‘Chak De! India’ inspires Indonesia’s hockey underdogs ahead of Asian Games clash

Nagoya: For Indonesia's young hockey players, Chak De! India is more than just a Bollywood blockbuster. It is a film that has inspired them and as they prepare to face India at the Asian Games here, it is also giving them the belief that being an underdog is not necessarily a disadvantage.

Indonesian mid-fielder Ferdian Fathur Rahman swears by the 2007 Shah Rukh Khan-starrer, which tells the tale of an underdog women's hockey team becoming world champion beating all odds.

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He has watched the hockey drama several times and still gets goosebumps recalling some of its most stirring moments, including a locker room monologue by Khan's character which inspires the players to come out of a difficult match situation.

Firdaus Muhammad, another member of the squad, is equally familiar with the film. In fact, most members of the Indonesian team have watched Chak De! India at least once, and many of them can name several of the current Indian players.

That is how deeply the film has travelled in Indonesia.

Released in 2007, Chak De! tells the story of Kabir Khan, a disgraced former India captain who seeks redemption by coaching a fractured Indian women's hockey team and turning a group of individuals from different states into a united side capable of challenging for the World Cup.

Indonesia will begin their Asian Games campaign against India in Pool A on September 20.

For Rahman, who has been a part of the Indonesian national setup for nearly four years and represented the country at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, one particular scene from the film has stayed with him.

He vividly recalls Kabir Khan's introductory roll call, when the coach asks each player where she comes from before delivering one of the movie's most memorable messages of unity in diversity.

"Yes, I do get inspired by Chak De!" Rahman says.

"The scene where the coach talks to the players and asks, 'Where are you from?' has stuck in my mind all these years."

The message that follows is even more powerful.

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"Mujhe states ke naam na sunai dete hain na dikhai dete hain... sirf ek mulk ka naam sunai deta hai -- India (I neither hear nor see the names of states... I only hear the name of one country -- India," was Kabir's reminder that individual identities and regional rivalries must disappear when the team takes the field.

Rahman said that message resonates beyond Indian hockey.

"Where I come from, in Surabaya, Bollywood movies are a rage, and this particular movie about hockey is watched even now," he says.

"I have been with the national team for four years. I was there at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023 and also played in the Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia and Thailand."

Firdaus, who has played both outdoor and indoor hockey for around five years, has his own favourite moment from the film -- the coach telling his players that they have 70 minutes to prove themselves.

"Tumhare paas sattar minutes hain (You only have 70 minutes to prove yourself and rewrite destiny)," he recalled.

For Indonesia, though, the challenge against India will be compressed into 60 minutes.

Hockey has long moved on from the 70-minute, two-half format depicted in the film, with international matches now played over four quarters of 15 minutes each.

Firdaus is not short on motivation ahead of that 60-minute test.

He is particularly eager to see India's captain Harmanpreet Singh up close -- and, more specifically, the drag flick that has made him one of the most feared penalty-corner specialists in world hockey.

"I like his (Harmanpreet's) drag flick," he said with a smile.

Come September 20, Indonesia will walk out against the defending champions with 60 minutes to show that they can stand up to one of Asia's hockey powerhouses. There will be no Bollywood script, no Kabir Khan to deliver the stirring speech and no second take.

Just four quarters, 60 minutes and one formidable opponent.