Rohan Chowdhury in Paris
India’s men’s hockey team won the bronze medal in the Paris 2024 Olympics defeating Spain 2-1. Winning back-to-back medals in hockey last happened at the 1972 Munich Games, when the team retained the bronze they had won in Mexico City in 1968.
Harmanpreet Singh had an incredible campaign in Paris, scoring 10 goals alongside captaining the side. Apart from his penalty corner conversions, Harmanpreet had been instrumental in holding the defence and midfield and supplying the ball up front.
PR Sreejesh, India’s legendary goalkeeper, played his last international game. He had announced his retirement from the Indian team after this Olympics. He ended his illustrious career with an Olympic medal. Though he wanted to change the colour from Tokyo, he nonetheless stows away his stick and pads with a bronze. His picture in Tokyo, where he climbed on top of the goalpost, broke the Internet. On August 8, at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium, he was again seen the same way.
In the post-match press conference, Harmanpreet, Sreejesh, and head coach Craig Fulton addressed the media.
Q: You took a team in despair and turned everything around. How did you bring about the mental strength in the team?
Fulton: I think the biggest thing was that we became a team in a short time. We did a good job in the Asian Games. We had some tough times in the Pro-League, in Australia.
Here, we came as the underdogs and no one thought we would make it through. We had trust among ourselves. Only Germany and India have achieved this feat in the recent times — to reach back-to-back top 4s in the Olympics.
Q: Why are you retiring? You are still fit to play.
Sreejesh: It’s a tough question. But one piece of advice that I got from one of my coach was that ‘Sree when you retire make sure people ask — why now?’ I think it is the best time now!
Q: How much will you miss Sree?
Harmanpreet: A tough one. He has been with us for a long time. He has been the best goalkeeper. He has given us so much memories. Love you, brother. He is staying here only with us. He’s not going anywhere.
Q: How difficult was it to regroup after the Germany game?
Fulton: Olympics is the pinnacle in our sport and we have to be ready for everything. We were ready for everything except for a red card. I’m so happy the way the team played in the Great Britain game and went through. The Germany game was a close one, we missed some chances. But we had faith in ourselves for the bronze medal match.
Q: Which medal is more important? Tokyo or Paris?
Sreejesh: Tokyo was the important one. The world was going through a tough time. That medal was special because it was after so many times, and it gave us the Olympic medal. We grew up knowing about the glory days of Indian hockey. It was a statement that now India is here to win medals and not just participate.
Q: You seemed quite emotional under the goalpost today after the match. Could you please explain the feelings?
Sreejesh: That was my home for the last 24 years. I never gave it a thought how would it be without it. I was having flashbacks of all these years — back to the time when I started playing. Harman said to me: “Sree Bhai. Apka last match hai [Sree Bhai, it’s your last match].” I replied “Khelega bhi waisa hi [I’ll play like that].”
Q: After not a good performance in the Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar, how was it for you as a captain to take the team this far?
Harmanpreet: I play with the best batch of players. It is our mantra to trust each other and back each other. That is what has worked for us.
Q: You always seem to be having conversation with the goalpost. What is that all about?
Sreejesh: Before, I used to be an aggressive goalkeeper. Used a lot of abuses (laughs). Now when I became the super senior in the team, coach said these words will affect the juniors in the team. Then I started talking to my goalpost. This is me. I have to vent out my emotions on the pitch to perform.
Q: What legacy would you want to leave behind as PR Sreejesh?
Sreejesh: Being a sports person, especially being a goalkeeper, if one kid picks up a pad and says I want to be like Sreejesh PR, that’s the best legacy I can leave. That is the best example I want to set. I struggled a lot, and now we are sitting here. It has been a long journey. I took me 21 years to get on the podium. I just want to tell the next generation to stay on and grind to get what you want.
Q: There were 10 penalty corner goals and only 3 field goals. Thoughts on working on the latter?
Fulton: Yeah, in the semifinal, we created many chances but we didn’t convert. Coming to PC, he’s the best in the world. If you have that talent in the team, you use it. For field goals, there are some talented young lads coming up. But in the Olympics, while playing against the top sides, it’s not easy to score field goals these days with such packed defensive approach of the teams. If you have someone who is this good with penalty corners, use him.
Q: How was the camp in Switzerland? What were the benefits?
Fulton: We had a great time in Switzerland. We’re trying to process it ourselves and keeping it in-house for now. We’ll let everyone know when the time comes.
Q: Has over-popularisation of cricket harmed hockey (Question by an European journalist to understand the culture of hockey in India)?
Sreejesh: Cricket is a beautiful game definitely. Financial power might be with cricket but when it comes to hockey, it’s all emotions. If you compare money with emotions, I think emotion is more in weight. The love that we have received from the fans is enormous.
Q: Yours was a long journey. How do you look back? What were your worst and best phases of your career?
Sreejesh: Didn’t qualify in 2008. In 2012, we didn’t win any match. From there, winning back-to-back medals, we have come a long way. Now after Pro-League, we get to rub our shoulders with the top sides. So, a lot has changed. These last three years show how far we have come. Now, people don’t talk about participation. Now, people expect medals.
🚨PR Sreejesh Exclusive
“It took me 24 years of hardwork to get these 2 Olympic medals” – @16Sreejesh opens up in a chat with @BoriaMajumdar @AgeasFederal #Hockey #IndianHockey #PRSreejesh #Paris2024 #Olympics #BlueRev pic.twitter.com/NEeqgZsGXQ
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) August 8, 2024
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