India needs a homegrown hero: Gasol

MUMBAI: All Pau Gasol knew on his maiden visit to the country was that 'India is a country with great potential' and that basketball is definitely not the No. 1 sport in the country. His solution though, to bring the sport at par may sound really simple.
"India needs a hero - a homegrown one. International stars exist but what you always need is something that's yours, that you can look up to and get inspired," says the 30-year-old from the Los Angeles Lakers, who's in the city as part of the NBA-Mahindra Challenge.
It's what the seven-foot forward has done for his countrymen since moving from FC Barcelona to the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association in 2001. He gradually made his mark to become the first Spaniard to feature in an All-Star Game and an NBA final.
But it's a move that almost didn't happen for the aspiring doctor, who even got into med school at the University of Barcelona. Luckily for sport, he 'just got better at basketball'.
For close to seven years, the power forward toiled hard for the Grizzlies but failed to take them past the first round of the Playoffs. But his switch to the Lakers in 2008 united him with Kobe Bryant, who he believes is 'the best player in the world today'.
"The transition was quick and in a couple of days, I was with the Lakers in Washington after a medical. Though hectic, I'm glad that LA is where I went, else my story would have been very different today," he says of the two NBA Championships (2009, 2010) that he's clinched with the Lakers since.
The Bryant-Gasol partnership has been a gaping spectacle in itself but behind the execution has been a cleverly orchestrated system that Gasol fondly calls 'ours'.
"We've managed to put together a series of quick calls in Spanish that others on court can't follow. It's really clicked for us over the years," he grins. "But USA is a dominant force in the international scenario and I'd love to have a couple of more chances at beating them after our final loss at Beijing 2008."
Such has been the Spaniard's draw in Los Angeles, a city that has a dominant Hispanic community, that he's stopped keeping a check on the number of nicknames for himself. "Conquistador, Gasolution, Pau-er...they just get funnier each time. But it's helped Lakers grow their fan base and the support in turn helps us during games."
The last 48 hours have been 'intense', but he's enjoyed the taste of the rhythm and pace of the city. "20 million people is quite a bit," he quips.