PR Sreejesh: The goalpost is my buddy

India ’keeper PR Sreejesh climbs on top of the goalpost after beating Germany to win the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Pic/AFP

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 country's national sport.

In a detailed interaction as part of mid-day's 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 game.

It's almost a month since you earned that Olympic medal. Has the magnitude of this achievement sunk in?
Not yet. The nation is still celebrating that medal. The beauty of this game is that you win one medal for the country, but you're carrying 19 medals across different states. So, it's 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 experienced.

Sreejesh with his bronze medal

Since you were the only goalkeeper in the Indian line-up at Tokyo, were you playing with the constant thought that you cannot afford to get injured because if you're out, the team will struggle?
Across the last decade-and-a-half, I've hardly been injured, so I wasn't thinking too much about that. Besides, during our preparation for this Olympics, we trained one of our players to take up the goalkeeper's position, if needed. But overall, we were confident that nothing of that sort would happen and we'll manage with just one goalkeeper in the team.

And will you continue to keep that player's name a secret or can you reveal it now that the Olympics are over?
It 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 us.

Team India had a wonderful tournament in Tokyo except for that match against Australia [lost 1-7]. What is it about the Australians that makes them so successful in
world hockey?
After 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 didn't 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. That's their tactic. They capitalise on their opposition's 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 wake-up call for us because after that game, we bounced back very well.

I 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 that's how they scored so many goals. On the other hand, that match was the reason we worked harder and eventually finished with the bronze medal.

The mid-day Meet Your Icon virtual interaction with PR Sreejesh

After winning the bronze medal match, we saw you climb on top of your goalpost and sit on it. What was that unique celebration all about?
For 21 years I've been standing in front of that goalpost. So, after I finally got that Olympic medal, I felt it's 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 that's the best place I got.

We 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 them?
My parents have been supporting me right from my initial days with the game, so that's 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 kids...they've all missed me while I've 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 couldn't 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 video.

So, how big was the Onam festival this time for you?
Unfortunately, my aunt passed away last year, so we didn't celebrate Onam the way we would have liked to, but the family sat down together for lunch, so that was special. Also, it's 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 busy
as well.

India have had a string of good hockey goalkeepers like Mir Ranjan Negi, Mark Patterson, Ashish Ballal, AB Subbaiah and Adrian D'Souza to name a few. Is there anyone you look up to?
I 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, it's 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 D'Souza, and instead, I should look to develop my own style and then modify it through self-improvement and interestingly, there came a time in my career where I had no seniors, I had no competition. So, Adrian's 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 goalkeeper.

Who is the toughest drag flicker you have faced till date?
In modern hockey, every drag flicker is like someone standing with an AK47 assault rifle and firing away at you. So, it's 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 faced.

What is the road map for the Indian team?
Paris 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 Bhubaneshwar.

Are there times when you feel lonely in the goalpost with all that bulky gear?
Sometimes yes, because on the field, we goalkeepers are playing a different game. It's not hockey. We are playing a mental game because you get so much time alone. Here's 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, it's important to distract yourself so that when the ball comes back, you can focus better. Continuously focusing on the ball can make you tired. That's why I always believe goalkeeping is a different game altogether.

Finally, a biopic coming up?
There 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, it's one of the good things that have happened to me after the Olympics.

Watch the video below.

‘Education is very important for every sportsperson'

In a Q & A with hockey players, Sreejesh advises them to work hard on their studies too because if they fail in sport, academics will help

Aditya Kabre, 16, school student: Growing up, how did you manage your studies alongside playing hockey?
That's 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 back-up 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, ‘I am a sportsperson so I don't know this job.' So, with sports and education, it's a 50-50 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 hockey.

Atharv Bandekar, 16, school student: When and where did you start playing hockey and did you always want to be a goalkeeper?
I saw hockey for the first time when I joined GV Raja Sports School [in Thiruvanan-thapuram] in 2000. And right from the start, I always wanted to be a goalkeeper because I didn't want to run. Goalkeeping was not my passion then. I just thought that it's easy because you don't 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 too.

Shruti Ruke, 18, college student: Do you feel bad when you see Indian cricketers earning more fame and money as compared to other national sportspersons?
Playing for the country is more important than name, fame and money. When I started to play for India, I felt it's all about dignity. So, wherever you go, when you say that I'm 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. It's all about self-satisfaction. When you wear that tri-colour on your jersey and you are on the field, listening to the national anthem, it makes you very happy. Money can't give you that joy. It's all about following your passion and maintaining your dignity. Nothing is more important.

Reeba Shaikh, 18, college student: Do the Indian women's hockey players frequently come up to you for technical advice, especially goalkeeper Savita Punia?
Savita 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 women's 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 his/her style or take advice from a senior and implement it, it can only develop their game. It will help improve their performance. So, we [men's and women's players] are always there to share feedback and support each other. In fact, after the women's team lost their semi-final encounter [1-2 to Argentina], I texted Savita and told her that if she wants to talk, I'm always there. We were residing on the same floor [at the Games Village] so I said, ‘you can meet me'. She came and we had lunch together. We [hockey players] are like family.

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