Penbugs
Indian SportsInspiring

Sreejesh PR- The Indian wall | Hockey | Tokyo 2020

Sports quota. Good job. These two sentences were gold in the ears of Sreejesh’s parents- who were farmers- as they were ready to send his son to GV Raja Sports School in Thiruvananthapuram.

Sreejesh comes from Kizhakkambalam village, in the Ernakulam district and went to a local school during his early days. The speciality of that school was they allowed Sreejesh to practice whatever sport he wanted. As a kid, he was just too good at everything or at least he thought.

Let me give you an example. Those days, there used to be Olympic video games in which you get to play all kinds of sport- running, archery, and the list goes on. Now, imagine someone doing it all in real. Well, not running but most of the others. He played basketball, javelin throw, volleyball among others. He might not be sure of what he had wanted, but his lazy body never agreed with the running.

As he came to the GV Raja Sports School, he looked around, only to see how he was living in his own bubble. He might have been good at all sport but literally, everyone out there was better. Starting from their height to their physique. Sreejesh wasn’t half of it and he knew none of them could work. Hockey became a companion, mainly because he had a few friendly faces playing the game. Since he never liked to run but had an excellent reflex, his coach made him a goalkeeper. It did work well for him.

To his luck, then coach of the junior national Indian hockey team and future senior team coach, Harendra Singh spotted him during an under-14 tournament. He got into the Junior Asia cup and everything well for him except for the financial burden during the early days.

While the family was struggling to make ends meet, it was certainly difficult for them to provide money for accessories. Once, his father had to sell his cow in order to help Sreejesh buy his pads.

He was bullied for his “amateur” kit and his language too. The then 15-year-old didn’t mind any of it. Though he got hit regularly on his body, he would get back to duty without showing any pain. His determination was one of those things that made heads turn.

A couple of years later, he made it to the senior team but during his early days, Adrian D’Souza and Bharat Chettri were in their prime and he had to lose his spot to them, most of the time.

Of course, the final of the 2006 South Asian Games didn’t help him either. No matter which sport it is, India always hated to lose against their arch-rivals Pakistan. In 2006, Sreejesh ended on the wrong side of the result.

The next two years were an excellent learning curve for the then youngster and in 2008, when India won the Junior Asia Cup, he was awarded the Goalkeeper of the tournament. However, he had to wait until 2010-2011 to become a regular spot in the team. Everything came to a circle when he came face to face against Pakistan once again.

Asian Champions Trophy Final. A couple of penalty stroke saves against the arch-rivals got him back on the map.

Since then, his graph has kept going up. In the 2015 Hockey World League, he saved three shots in the shootout with a broken thumb and injured shoulder. India eventually won the Bronze medal. The country’s first medal at an international event since 1982.

In 2016, he played a major role in India’s silver medal in the Champions Trophy. Right after the tournament, he was awarded the captaincy for the Rio Olympics. India had reached the Quarter-final but went down to Belgium.

2017 was probably the worst year for him. An ACL injury in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup kept him away for a while. During that time, he lost his captaincy to Manpreet Singh. A few youngsters were doing well in his absence and it was difficult for him to make the cut. During the injury, his mental health took a toll and also, his reflexes weren’t effective as they used to be.

Though he got back his form eventually, he didn’t get his captaincy back but that was the least of his concerns. In 2019, he helped India to win the silver medal Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.

In the 2020-21 FIH Pro League, India ended at the fourth spot and they enjoyed a few major wins, thanks to his work. Three saves each in the penalty shootout against Argentina, Australia and the Netherlands sent a different message to the world.

In Tokyo 2020, if not for his reflexes, especially during the final moments of the game, India wouldn’t be celebrating at all.

**
Sreejesh definitely is one of the biggest sportspeople India has ever produced but he is also the most approachable and down to earth person you’ll ever see. Fame isn’t everything, after all.

His biggest achievement apart from the Olympic Medal is certainly making Goalkeeping pretty. If that’s there, he is the main reason why a cricket-crazy country and a football-crazy state tuned to hockey today.

Related posts

Must See: Indian junior women’s hockey team gets warm welcome on flight after tri-series win!

Penbugs

FIH Series Women’s finals: India starts off with a win; defeats Uruguay 4-1

Penbugs

Leave a Comment