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The Indian men's hockey team was going through a transition phase when PR Sreejesh made his international debut in 2006. There was a visible decline in the performance of the team post the 2004 Athens Olympics, where the Indian team had finished 7th.
Legendary Indian player Dhanraj Pillay retired from the international hockey post 2004 and the likes of Sandeep Singh suffered a freakish injury in the lead up to the 2008 Olympics.
These turn of events left the Indian men's hockey team high and dry. The team did not qualify for the 2008 Olympics for the first time since they started participating in the Summer Games in 1928. The confidence of Sreejesh, who was just 20 back then and in the initial phase of his career, would have taken a major fall due to this. However, the lad from Ernakulam was determined to put in all the hard yards to be nothing but the best.
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Cementing the first choice goalkeeper spot
Sreejesh's path to becoming one of India's all-time best hockey players was not all that straightforward. Although talented, a young Sreejesh was not the most consistent goalkeeper. He was often challenged for his spot in the team by compatriots Bharat Chettri and Adrian D'Souza.
However, it was almost 6 years into his international career when Sreejesh cemented his spot as India's first choice goalkeeper over the more experienced Bharat and Adrian. Sreejesh almost single-handedly won India its first Asian Champions Trophy title in 2011 when he saved a couple of penalty strokes in the shoot-out for the gold medal against Pakistan.
This gave Sreejesh a lot of confidence in his skills and he became recognized as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. However, when India qualified for the 2012 Olympics on the back of some impressive performances by Bharat Chettri, a less experienced Sreejesh was again pushed back to be the second choice keeper. In fact, Bharat was nominated as the captain of the team going to the London Olympics.
However, at the 2012 London Olympics, the Indian team hit a new low as they didn't win a single match in the whole tournament and finished last. The disastrous campaign led to a major overhaul of the Indian men's hockey team as several senior players were terminated.
The federation banked on the gen-next of Indian hockey, including the likes of Sardar Singh, Rupinderpal Singh, SV Sunil and PR Sreejesh, to deliver the goods at major tournaments. This move reaped the Indian men's hockey team rich dividends as the favorable results started to come thick and fast.
Improved performances with Sreejesh at the helm
Post 2012, a newly formed team was raring to bring back the glorious days of Indian hockey back. The team managed to do so with Sreejesh resolutely behind them in goal. From 2014 to 2016, Sreejesh was arguably at the peak of his game as he made some mind-boggling saves in major tournaments for India.
The Indian men's hockey team won a gold medal at the 2014 Asian Games; a first in 16 years, with Sreejesh saving the day for the team in the gold medal match against Pakistan. He made some fabulous saves in the regulation time and in the shoot-out as well to win India the gold medal. His grit and determination led India to a bronze medal-winning performance at the 2015 Hockey World League Final in Raipur.
For the 2016 Rio Olympics, Sreejesh was chosen as the skipper of the Indian team. The Indian team reached the quarter-finals stage before losing to Belgium there. It was one of the most heartbreaking losses of Sreejesh's career as he had given his all for the team in that cycle.
A richly deserved Olympic glory
After a disappointing loss at the Rio Olympics, Sreejesh shifted his focus towards the Tokyo Olympics. However, his preparations hit a major halt as he suffered a career-threatening anterior cruciate ligament injury in 2017.
For Sreejesh, who was aged 30 at the time, it looked almost impossible for him to make a comeback as young goalkeepers including Krishan Pathak, Akash Chitke and Suraj Karkera were making giant strides in the domestic circuit.
But the champion athlete that Sreejesh is, he made a remarkable comeback for the Indian team in 2018. He played a pivotal role as India won a silver medal at the 2018 Champions Trophy in Breda, Netherlands.
Although he lost his captaincy post a disappointing 2018 Asian Games campaign (where India won a bronze medal) to Mandeep Singh, both of them aligned well to a common goal of winning India a medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
The Indian men's team was ranked number 4 in the world in the lead up to the Olympics. They reached Tokyo with the aim of winning an Olympic medal for the first time in 41 years. The Indian team came across a minor blip in their 2nd match against Australia. They lost by a margin of 1-7. This could have proven to be a momentum shifter for the Indian team.
However, the team fought back like true champions to seal the quarter-final berth, finishing in 2nd spot in their pool. In the quarter-final match against the British team, the Indian team showed immense character as they won 3-1. Once again, it was PR Sreejesh who proved to be the difference between the two sides. Sreejeh was solid as a rock in the 4th quarter of the match when the British team were peppering the Indian goal post with shot after shot.
India made it to the semi-finals of an Olympic hockey tournament for the 1st time since 1972. However, in the semis, they came across the pre-tournament favorites Belgium. The Indian team lost the match to make it to the bronze medal match against the German team.
Although the Indian team were trailing the German team 1-3, 25 minutes into the match, they quickly shifted momentum. A strong attack was launched by the Indian team and they scored 4 more goals in the space of 8 minutes. After taking a 5-3 lead, the Indian team was attacked back by the German team in the 3rd and 4th quarters.
Again, it was up to Sreejesh to make that one big effort to lead India to the historic medal. He put in a herculean effort in those two quarters. Sreejesh made a brilliant save just before the hooter went out as India defeated Germany 5-4 in the bronze medal match of the men's hockey tournament at the Tokyo Olympics.
It was fitting that the Great Wall of India, Sreejesh, had the final hand in leading the Indian team to an Olympic bronze medal. Although Sreejesh himself believes that being a goalkeeper can be a thankless job, we can't thank him enough for all the glory that he has brought to the nation.
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