At the historic Yves-du-Manoir Stadium, there were some memorable scenes when India clinched the bronze medal at Paris 2024. Yes, India sealing the bronze in men’s hockey for the second time in a row would be penned with an indelible ink. But there was more to that Spain-India match than just winning a bronze: The legendary PR Sreejesh had played his final match for his country.
The celebrations that followed after India’s 2-1 victory would be recalled for many more generations. At one point of time, Sreejesh was seen sitting on the top of the net, with the rest of his teammates cheering him on. His teammates also bowed down to him, and Harmanpreet Singh, the skipper, carried Sreejesh on his shoulders.
That epoch-making moment also took yours truly on a jog down the memory lane. It almost felt like your eyes were watching an imaginary highlights reel package, comprising some of his best performances. One of them came in the Asian Games final between the arch-rivals, India and Pakistan, in 2014. With both teams having scored a goal each, it was time for a Penalty shootout.
It was also that time of the match, where you ended up chewing your fingernails and wondered, “Will India break the 48-year-old jinx of not having beaten Pakistan in an Asian Games final?” After some minutes, there was relief as India had clinched a humdinger. On expected lines, there was ecstacy and jubilation in the Indian camp.
The one man largely responsible for India’s defining win was none other than Sreejesh. With India leading 1-0 in the penalties, Haseem Khan braced himself to take a shot at India’s goal net. By the time Haseem took a few steps, Sreejesh had already jumped out of the Indian ‘D’ and perhaps covered 5-6 metres. You again pondered, “Maybe Sreejesh has gone too far ahead and Pakistan would find the equaliser.” What you witnessed next would stay in the memory bank forever.
Having watched Sreejesh’s initial move, Haseem showcased some fine stick-work and tried to wrong-foot the goalkeeper by changing the direction. Sreejesh, however, was equal to the task as he too moved to his right and stopped the first shot with a dive and deft stick-work. In a flash, Sreejesh was again up on his toes and, akin to a cheetah on the prowl, followed his opponent.
Haseem still didn’t crack under Sreejesh’s raid. Instead of moving forward, he once more changed the direction to move backwards. The plan was to probably create some space between himself and the goalkeeper in order to net the goal. The idea was right, but not the execution. He probably rushed through with his strike and Sreejesh saved the attempt.
Sreejesh’s agility – going backwards, moving forward or sideways – didn’t just encapsulate his skill-set but also his unreal passion to win matches for his country. In an imaginary sense, he makes a sports connoisseur think of Sreejesh wearing a magical Superman-Batman-combined-suit to prevent the bewildered opponents from cracking goals.
There was more to Sreejesh’s heroics than just one save. With India leading 2-1 in the penalties, Sreejesh made yet another stop. The Pakistan striker went for more of a direct approach, and under pressure, Sreejesh was India’s saviour. Those two saves turned out to be decisive as India usurped Pakistan.
The clock has tick-tocked vigorously since then and just like that a decade has gone by. During that period of 10 years, Sreejesh has had so many glittering moments, including his epic performances against Germany at the Tokyo Olympics and then in Paris. When all that twinkles is Gold, it is difficult to pick the finest of the lot. But, somehow, his mind-numbing save to deny Haseem sticks out the most.
Just zoom in on the larger picture, Sreejesh is one-of-a-kind. At the age of 15, he was this wiry teenager taking innumerable blows in a national camp. Somewhere in 2015, he played a Hockey World League match with three separate injuries – thumb, shoulder and thigh. There are countless such examples which exemplify his grit and doggedness. Maybe it is time to anoint Sreejesh with the title – The Indian Everest.