PR Sreejesh: The goalpost is my buddy

Indian hockey has had different strikers defenders midfielders and even coaches across the last decade but just one goalkeeper in PR Sreejesh Having won almost every medal in world hockey the veteran custodian has added to his legendary status with an Olympic bronze at the Tokyo Games a first in 41 years for the countryrsquos national sportIn a detailed interaction as part of middayrsquos Meet Your Icon series where young fans get a chance to speak to their sporting heroes Sreejesh 35 talks about his hockey journey right from his school days to how the Tokyo Olympics have ushered in a new era for the national gameItrsquos almost a month since you earned that Olympic medal Has the magnitude of this achievement sunk inNot yet The nation is still celebrating that medal The beauty of this game is that you win one medal for the country but yoursquore carrying 19 medals across different states So itrsquos almost like winning one medal for each of those states It will take time to celebrate because everyone wants a piece of you There are so many functions This is definitely the busiest period I have ever experiencedSreejesh with his bronze medalSince you were the only goalkeeper in the Indian lineup at Tokyo were you playing with the constant thought that you cannot afford to get injured because if yoursquore out the team will struggleAcross the last decadeandahalf Irsquove hardly been injured so I wasnrsquot thinking too much about that Besides during our preparation for this Olympics we trained one of our players to take up the goalkeeperrsquos position if needed But overall we were confident that nothing of that sort would happen and wersquoll manage with just one goalkeeper in the teamAnd will you continue to keep that playerrsquos name a secret or can you reveal it now that the Olympics are overIt remains a secret because even for the next Olympics we will be going with only one goalkeeper So if the name of that player is revealed then the other teams could start planning something against usTeam India had a wonderful tournament in Tokyo except for that match against Australia lost 17 What is it about the Australians that makes them so successful inworld hockeyAfter that match our coach Graham Reid came and told us that he had seen the Australians play a perfect match after many years He said all their shots went in and that too into the corners of the goal So it was a perfect game for them They didnrsquot miss anything right from the beginning All their goals were fantastic They also took advantage of some small errors that we committed The Australians always come hard to you If they score first they then try to score more to apply that scoreboard pressure on you And if you score first they try hard to equalise with a lot of energy and put in everything they have Thatrsquos their tactic They capitalise on their oppositionrsquos mistakes and score And when they start to apply that pressure the opposition goes on the back foot and that makes it easy for them to score more goals But that match was like a wakeup call for us because after that game we bounced back very wellI think what happened in that match was important for us Also Australia came into that match very frustrated because in their previous match they were down against Japan before fighting back to win This was their second game and they wanted to show the world that they were good It was a lucky day for Australia everything clicked for them and thatrsquos how they scored so many goals On the other hand that match was the reason we worked harder and eventually finished with the bronze medalThe midday Meet Your Icon virtual interaction with PR SreejeshAfter winning the bronze medal match we saw you climb on top of your goalpost and sit on it What was that unique celebration all aboutFor 21 years Irsquove been standing in front of that goalpost So after I finally got that Olympic medal I felt itrsquos the right time to celebrate with my goalpost The goalpost is like my buddy At that moment it felt like a flashback All my initial days as a player the struggles we faced as a team the glorious moments the fun times it all came to me in a flash like a film reel So I wanted a peaceful place where I could sit and be comfortable and thatrsquos the best place I gotWe saw the delightful video call that you made to your family after winning the bronze The emotions were running high What does this medal mean to themMy parents have been supporting me right from my initial days with the game so thatrsquos over two decades They know my struggles through these years They are my biggest support Just as I have put in a lot of effort on the hockey field they have put in similar efforts behind the scenes My parents my wife and kidstheyrsquove all missed me while Irsquove been out playing or the national camp for months together They have sacrificed a lot for me to succeed I played two Olympics before this and couldnrsquot achieve anything So after all these years of hard work I feel they too are part of this win Their sacrifices made it possible An Olympic medal is a dream for every athlete and their family And having fulfilled that you can see those emotions coming through in that videoSo how big was the Onam festival this time for youUnfortunately my aunt passed away last year so we didnrsquot celebrate Onam the way we would have liked to but the family sat down together for lunch so that was special Also itrsquos been very busy after winning this medal a lot of people are coming over to visit the family and they want to touch the medal click pictures So this was a different Onam for me where I was in celebratory mode but too busyas wellIndia have had a string of good hockey goalkeepers like Mir Ranjan Negi Mark Patterson Ashish Ballal AB Subbaiah and Adrian DrsquoSouza to name a few Is there anyone you look up toI started my career around the same time when Adrian was playing When I joined the junior team he was our main goalkeeper And from there till 2012 we were together So itrsquos been a long relationship We almost share a brotherly relationship That journey moulded me in a different way We often refer to it as the journey from a lungi to the boxer shorts I started looking up to Adrian and also wanted to copy him but he once told me that if I copied him I would be just another Adrian DrsquoSouza and instead I should look to develop my own style and then modify it through selfimprovement and interestingly there came a time in my career where I had no seniors I had no competition So Adrianrsquos advice was most relevant because eventually I had to look within and not compare myself to anyone else And if I was making a mistake I needed to analyse it myself and improve So my relationship with Adrian has helped me grow as a professional goalkeeperWho is the toughest drag flicker you have faced till dateIn modern hockey every drag flicker is like someone standing with an AK47 assault rifle and firing away at you So itrsquos tough to point to any one good drag flicker currently But in 2010 when I played in the World Cup against Pakistan Sohail Abbas was one of the toughest opponents I facedWhat is the road map for the Indian teamParis 2024 Olympics is our ultimate aim Before that there are three big challenges coming up We start with the Commonwealth Games Birmingham UK and the Asian Games Hangzhou China both next year The Asian Games are important because if you win there you earn direct qualification for the Olympics And then the next one is the 2023 World Cup in BhubaneshwarAre there times when you feel lonely in the goalpost with all that bulky gearSometimes yes because on the field we goalkeepers are playing a different game Itrsquos not hockey We are playing a mental game because you get so much time alone Herersquos where the mental part kicks in Once you concede a goal you have the next few minutes to think about it Similarly if you make a save you start thinking about it across the next few minutes and there is a possibility that you could get carried away These are the things you need to control So whenever the ball is in the opposition half itrsquos important to distract yourself so that when the ball comes back you can focus better Continuously focusing on the ball can make you tired Thatrsquos why I always believe goalkeeping is a different game altogetherFinally a biopic coming upThere are some laughs A lot of people particularly in Kerala have said that they want to meet and discuss a biopic In fact in the next few days I have a meeting with someone regarding this So itrsquos one of the good things that have happened to me after the OlympicsWatch the video below lsquoEducation is very important for every sportspersonrsquoIn a Q amp A with hockey players Sreejesh advises them to work hard on their studies too because if they fail in sport academics will helpAditya Kabre 16 school student Growing up how did you manage your studies alongside playing hockeyThatrsquos a good question You need to manage both because just in case you do not reach the professional level as a sportsperson you must have a backup for your future You may be spending a lot of time for your training and thinking about your sports career but you could end up somewhere else So education is very important for every sportsperson Also once you have finished playing and you need to work you cannot turn around and say lsquoI am a sportsperson so I donrsquot know this jobrsquo So with sports and education itrsquos a 5050 thing You need to give equal importance to sports and your books For me it was easy because when I was in my second year of college I got a job with Indian Overseas Bank So I began focusing more on hockeyAtharv Bandekar 16 school student When and where did you start playing hockey and did you always want to be a goalkeeperI saw hockey for the first time when I joined GV Raja Sports School in Thiruvananthapuram in 2000 And right from the start I always wanted to be a goalkeeper because I didnrsquot want to run Goalkeeping was not my passion then I just thought that itrsquos easy because you donrsquot have to run too much You just have to stand in one place Besides being a Keralite I always had some football skills so when I became a hockey goalkeeper football helped me tooShruti Ruke 18 college student Do you feel bad when you see Indian cricketers earning more fame and money as compared to other national sportspersonsPlaying for the country is more important than name fame and money When I started to play for India I felt itrsquos all about dignity So wherever you go when you say that Irsquom part of the Indian hockey team or I play for my country the passion the respect you get feels more important than anything else Just as you recognise me when I go out a lot of hockey players recognise me When I go home many people recognise me So all this is more important After a certain stage in life money is nothing Itrsquos all about selfsatisfaction When you wear that tricolour on your jersey and you are on the field listening to the national anthem it makes you very happy Money canrsquot give you that joy Itrsquos all about following your passion and maintaining your dignity Nothing is more importantReeba Shaikh 18 college student Do the Indian womenrsquos hockey players frequently come up to you for technical advice especially goalkeeper Savita PuniaSavita is an experienced goalkeeper She has been doing the job for the last seven years or so and has been with the national team for long Goalkeepers may have different styles but our common aim is to stop a goal from being scored So Savita and I do talk about a lot of things we face like how to communicate with teammates or how you need to organise your defence during a match We do exchange notes many a time Also I try to help out with technique sometimes I never try to change things I just offer some guidance Some of the womenrsquos players are very experienced and I may not be the perfect person to advise them but they are always open to suggestions and willing to change If a player is ready to change hisher style or take advice from a senior and implement it it can only develop their game It will help improve their performance So we menrsquos and womenrsquos players are always there to share feedback and support each other In fact after the womenrsquos team lost their semifinal encounter 12 to Argentina I texted Savita and told her that if she wants to talk Irsquom always there We were residing on the same floor at the Games Village so I said lsquoyou can meet mersquo She came and we had lunch together We hockey players are like familyAlso Read Ronaldo on Man United return Right where I belong Sir Alex this is for you