Shah Rukh Khan's Chak De Motivates a Big Win for India

Shah Rukh Khan may deny it but Chak De India motivated our players to perform well. Coming after the miserable performance of our cricketers at Lords the pre-vious day, the sweet taste of victory was welcome.

So, Chak De India has worked and we saw the influence of the movie on the Indian team in the recent Asia Cup hockey tournament. Indian fans, disappointed with its cricket team’s loss at Lord’s on Saturday, were overwhelmed by the victory of the Indian hockey team in the Asia Cup, on Sunday. The Indian hockey team lifted the men’s Asia Cup hockey title with a huge 7-2 win over South Korea in Chennai. In fact, the Indian hockey team had won the Asia Cup only once before – way back in 2003, when the team played some excellent hockey against some tough opponents.

Soon after the game ended, television news channels also came out with special reports on the Asia Cup Final and most of the channels appreciated the movie Chak De India too, in the process.

NDTV interacted with Shahrukh Khan, who played the hockey coach, Kabir Khan in the movie Chak De India. Shahrukh Khan was also pleased with the team’s victory, but he gave all the credit to the team and opined that Chak De India had played no role in India’s victory in the final. He said the Indian players had in fact played an exceptional game and they were the real heroes.

Yes, Chak De India was just a movie and there is a huge difference between reel life and real life. But viewed from across the spectrum, the film had really motivated our players and the fighting spirit really stood out in all the matches. What the Indian players achieved on Sunday is really commendable and they have set a benchmark for the upcoming hockey tournaments including the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the next Hockey World Cup. Moreover, the victory in the Asia Cup is just the beginning of a better tomorrow. We expect much more from the Indian hockey team. Lastly, we hope that the players will restore India’s supremacy in the national game by winning the gold in the Beijing Olympics 2008.

Source: MeriNews