CHENNAI: Zoran Visic is in India to run his eyes over the ongoing basketball nationals. The interim coach of the men's team and full-time coach of the women's team will have to select the team for upcoming events, most notably for the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast in April.
While he is a bit guarded when speaking about what the women can achieve in Australia, he is very engaged when speaking about the history that India had with erstwhile Yugoslavia. So much that at one point of time, Visic gives a few scribes a lecture on how Jawaharlal Nehru and Josip Tito, Yugoslavia's president at that time, got together to form the Non-Aligned Movement in Belgrade in 1961 (in the company of the Heads of State of Egypt, Indonesia and Ghana).
During another point of the conversation, he mentions the time when Indira Gandhi visited Yugoslavia and presented Tito with two elephants named Lanka and Sonia. The question is fairly routine.
Why do India and Serbia enjoy such a good partnership in the field of basketball?
Visic says that it's a byproduct of decades of harmony and international understanding between the two countries. He gives a further example, one that is fascinating in the extreme. "In Belgrade (Yugoslavia's federal capital before it broke up), I stay near Yuri Gagarin road. It's located in the middle of Gandhi Road and Nehru Road. That's how close we are."
Visic ultimately opens up on the targets that the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) have set for him. "No pressure. The women played really well at the Asia Cup (in Bengaluru last year). We should continue on a similar path. We played like a team then, and that should continue." He doesn't want to promise anything about how far the team can potentially go in Gold Coast, but says that a semifinal outing could be likely. "The CWG is a very good tournament. Hard work is the only thing I can promise. I am an eternal optimist. If we beat Malaysia and Jamaica, for example, we are almost in the semifinals. There are a lot of good teams there, but there is always a chance (for us to do well)."
To achieve that, Visic has planned a camp with the women's team in February. "They have a lot of potential and will improve for sure. We need to get better, tactically as well as individually. We have enough time to work on those things." Visic, who has been coaching for more than three decades, was given the additional mandate of coaching the men's team last November. While he did a good job, he
indicated that BFI is on the lookout for a new men's coach. "I cannot do two jobs at the same time. I will just be helping the men's team until the time they appoint a coach. BFI are looking. I won't be suggesting anybody. NBA (India) is here and I'm sure they will help."
Do not be surprised if the identity of the new men's coach is a Serb, given the history between the two countries.