Learning how to handle pressure from Sreejesh, says young goalkeeper Pawan Malik

Handed a place in the senior Indian team during the FIH Pro League in March young goalkeeper Pawan Malik says competing against worlds top teams was nerveracking but working with the legendary PR Sreejesh helped him to handle pressureThe 21yearold impressed with his skills during Indias recent unbeaten outing in Pro League games in RourkelaWith Krishan Pathak on personal leave for his wedding earlier this year Pawan stepped into a larger role for the senior side during the Rourkela leg in March against World Champions Germany and the mighty AustraliansAlso ReadMairaj KhanGanemat Sekhon win skeet mixed team gold at Shotgun WCIt was nerveracking to play against top sides like Germany and Australia The speed and the attack they bring on were very different from what I was generally used to in my junior days he said in a Hockey India releaseBut the team really backed me and having spent a lot of time with experienced players in the camp helped a lotThe 21yearold has made rapid strides in hockey with impressive performances right from his Junior India days His performance at Pro League drew parallels with Germanys star goalie JeanPaul Danneberg who also happens to be the same ageIt feels nice when people recognize my performance but there is still a lot I need to work on Working with someone like PR Sreejesh a legend who has nearly two decades of experience has helped me understand how to handle pressure in bigmatch situationsTo play alongside him in the Pro League was a dream come true moment for me and I just wanted to focus on the job assigned to mePawan who was part of Indias silver medal winning feat at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in 2018 is currently in camp along with four other goalies namely Prashant Kumar Chauhan Suraj Karkera Krishan Pathak and SreejeshI am not too worried about getting a chance to play for India at the moment I know when the time comes I will make it but until then I need to hone my skills and be the best in my game he saidEven if I dont get matches now there is a lot that I get to learn every day in the senior campThe Indian mens hockey core group is based in SAI Bengaluru where they are putting in the hard yards under Chief Coach Craig Fulton who took charge last weekThe team is preparing for the European leg of the Pro League and currently continues to lead the points table with 5 straight wins and 2 from shootouts in 8 matches they have played so farThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever