Hockey India announced that in honour of star goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh, it is retiring jersey no. 16 from the senior men’s hockey team. The veteran Kerala keeper had called it quits after the team won bronze at the Paris Olympics 2024.
The 36-year-old represented India for 18 years, with the bronze medals at successive Olympics being the highlight of his glittering career.
He has also been appointed the head coach of the junior men’s hockey team. Sreejesh is often referred to as ‘The Wall’, in reference to his goalkeeping skills. Interestingly, he shares the nickname with Indian cricketing stalwart and former India coach Rahul Dravid, who, too, coached the junior men’s cricket team. Social media is already abuzz with speculations of a larger role for Sreejesh in the future, like Dravid.
In a fitting farewell to the veteran goalkeeper from Kerala, India beat Spain 2-1 to win the bronze. Sreejesh played his part, with two crucial saves in the final minutes of the game. But it was his heroics in the quarterfinal against Great Britain, that proved to one of the memorable moments for India at the recently-concluded Paris Olympics. Tied 1-1, a 10-man India prevailed 4-2 over their opponents in the penalty shootout.
How a farmer’s son became India’s sporting legend
PR Sreejesh was born into a family of farmers in Kizhakkambalam village, Ernakulam, but was attracted to athletics from a young age. Though he started off with track-and-field events and volleyball at the GV Raja Sports School in Thiruvananthapuram, his coaches convinced him to take up hockey.
Such was his talent that he was drafted into the junior Indian team by 2004, and two years later, he made his senior team debut at the South Asian Games.
Despite injuries and tough competition, Sreejesh established himself as the no. 1 choice for the goalkeeper’s position by the 2012 London Olympics. A disastrous outing in that edition led to a major overhaul in the team, with youngsters like Sreejesh, Sardar Singh, Manpreet Singh and Rupinderpal Singh coming into the limelight.
A rejuvenated India went on to win the gold medal at the 2014 Asian Games – a feat achieved after 16 years – and a silver at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. These were followed by a bronze medal at the 2015 FIH Hockey World League Final. Sreejesh played a stellar role in these triumphs.
Sreejesh was appointed the captain at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and he led the Indian team into the quarterfinals – a marked improvement from the London debacle.
But, the defining moment in Sreejesh’s career came at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He played a crucial role in ending India’s 41-year wait for an Olympic medal in hockey, as India beat Germany to win a historic bronze.
Sreejesh was conferred with the Arjuna Award in 2015, the Padma Shri in 2017 and the Khel Ratna Award in 2021.
