Hail the man: Sreejesh’s teammates wear a jersey to honour him, during a felicitation ceremony conducted by Hockey India in New Delhi on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
Retires his jersey No. 16 from the senior side at his retirement function marked by the stars of the hockey fraternity, his teammates share anecdotes and moments with the legendary goalkeeper
Indian sports has never been big on gestures but P.R. Sreejesh’s retirement function here was marked by several of them, all grand and unprecedented.
For the first time, a hockey player had formally called time on his career and was officially celebrated by the federation. ‘Hockey India permanently retired his jersey number — 16 — from the senior men’s team. “We will retain it in the juniors so that he can create many more Sreejesh,” HI secretary general Bhola Nath Singh quipped.
Having announced his decision before the Paris Olympics, the 36-year old goalkeeper had already set the tone for his departure as a player. On Wednesday, he was officially named as coach of the junior men’s team — the camp will start on October 1 with the first outing likely to be Sultan of Johor Cup from October 19to 26 — and mentor for goalkeepers in the senior side.
The entire Indian team and support staff turned up in specially-created Sreejesh jerseys to honour him, in the presence of his entire family. Teammates, coaches and former players shared their memories from the time together in the dressing room, all against a giant screen that had images from his two-decade long career flanking the words ‘God of Modern Indian Hockey’.
Motivator
“I have never seen Sree take rest when he is on the ground. He has motivated more than one generation of players. But it is his hard work and focus that stands out. When we started, we were 17-18 in the world but even then, his target was for India to be No. 1. It is that focus which has brought him this far,” former captain Sardar Singh revealed.
Captain Harmanpreet Singh shared his message before the bronze medal match against Spain. “He said, ‘Machan, the game Indian team has shown in this tournament and the love we have received from everyone, that is a huge thing. This will be our last chance to lift Indian hockey again and go back a winner. I remember telling him ye aapka last match hai and he replied, khelunga bhi waise hi. And we all know what he did on the field’,” an emotional Harmanpreet said.
Sreejesh being presented a jersey by shooter Manu.
| Photo Credit:
SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
Manpreet Singh, the other four-time Olympian in the side, expressed the team’s confidence in Sreejesh during matches. “Like an elder brother, he would always motivate and keep yelling from behind, every mistake was instantly pointed out, in amazingly sweet words,” he declared, inviting laughter from everyone.
“I remember during the 2014 Asian Games, he told us, ‘if you guys take the game to shoot-out, I will get you the win’. And he did exactly that in the final against Pakistan. We could play freely up front because we knew Sree was there at the back even if we made a mistake.”
Sreejesh during the felicitation ceremony.
| Photo Credit:
SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
Coach Harendra Singh, who scouted Sreejesh as a kid and brought him into the national fold for the first time, declared he was best placed to be a coach, not just because he was a great player but “the best human being ever, the best motivator, the best student of the game I have seen”.
