Parattu Ravindran Sreejesh: Playing his last tournament, PR Sreejesh (Indian Hockey PR Sreejesh) once again proved to be the ‘wall’ of Indian hockey and despite playing with ten players for 42 minutes, India defeated Britain 4-2 in the penalty shootout and entered the semi-finals of the Paris Olympics. The Indian defense has to be praised, which, under the leadership of 36-year-old Sreejesh, defended every attack of Britain and did not let them take the lead. Britain attacked the Indian goal 28 times and got only one success. When the score remained equal at 1-1 till the stipulated time, the match went into a shootout. Captain Harmanpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Lalit Upadhyay and Rajkumar Pal scored goals for India in the shootout, while James Albery and Jacques Vallance were the only ones to score goals for England. Connor Williamson missed the target and Sreejesh saved Philip Roper’s shot.
India will play the winner of the quarterfinal between Germany and Argentina in the semifinal on August 6. The Indian team reached the final four by defeating Britain in the Tokyo Olympics. Sreejesh proved to be India’s wall against Germany in the bronze medal match in Tokyo and lived up to expectations in the toughest match of the Paris Olympics so far.
PR Sreejesh’s journey has been very interesting. This wall will not break
Parattu Ravindran Sreejesh, who plays as a goalkeeper in the Indian men’s hockey team, was born on 8 May 1986 in Ernakulam, Kerala. PR Sreejesh never dreamed of becoming a hockey player, he initially trained in sports like sprinting, volleyball and long jump. However, on the advice of his coach, he started playing hockey and since then he has been one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
Debut in the year 2004
PR Sreejesh made his junior international hockey debut against Australia in the year 2004. After his stellar performance, he made his senior debut at the 2006 South Asian Games in Colombo.
Achieved supremacy in 2011, became India’s star goalkeeper
PR Sreejesh became a star after defending a penalty stroke against Pakistan in the 2011 Asian Champions Trophy final. Since that match, he has been a regular member of the national team. Fans of world hockey came to know about his defending ability, since then Sreejesh has been playing continuously for the Indian hockey team and single-handedly winning matches for India. After the Asian Champions Trophy, PR Sreejesh played an important role in India’s victory in the 2013 Asia Cup. He was awarded the title of the best goalkeeper of the tournament for his brilliant performance.
Became the world’s best goalkeeper
India finished fourth in the 2014 Champions Trophy, but PR Sreejesh succeeded in winning the title of the best goalkeeper of the tournament, leaving behind German and Australian goalkeepers.
Won gold medal for India in Incheon Asian Games
PR Sreejesh once again played an important role in India’s victory in the 2014 Asian Games. His extraordinary decision-making ability on the field won India the gold medal in the Incheon Asian Games. His ability surprised everyone. Sreejesh became the best goalkeeper in world hockey.
Became the ‘wall’ of the Indian hockey team
Experienced Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh helped India win the silver medal in the 2016 Champions Trophy by showing excellent game. The team reached the quarter-finals in the 2016 Olympics. In 2018, he won the silver medal for India in the Breda Champions Trophy on the basis of his defending ability. The Indian hockey team was successful in winning the bronze medal in the Pif Jakarta Asian Games. Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh played an important role in these historic victories of India.
PR Sreejesh, who is retiring after the Paris Olympics, has also had a great club career.
Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh played 12 matches for Mumbai Magicians in the Hockey India League from 2013 to 2015. In 2015, he was bought by Uttar Pradesh Wizards and since then he has been with the team and till the 2017 season, he played 33 matches for them. During this time too, Sreejesh surprised everyone with his skills.
Honoured with Arjuna Award and Padma Shri
The Indian goalkeeper has been awarded the Arjuna Award in 2013 and Padma Shri in 2017 by the Government of India. PR Sreejesh was born in a farmer family in Kizhakkambalam village in Ernakulam district of Kerala, PR Sreejesh was never interested in taking up hockey as a sport. His father sold his cow to buy his first hockey kit.
Sreejesh also became a hero in Tokyo Olympics
India won a medal in Tokyo Olympics after 41 years, the Indian hockey team was successful in winning the bronze medal in Tokyo. In the last Olympics too, Sreejesh surprised everyone with his goalkeeping ability
Superstar of India’s hockey campaign in Tokyo 2020 Olympics
When India won the bronze medal in Tokyo 2020 Olympics, he played an important role behind it. In 2021, he won India’s highest sports honor Khel Ratna Award and then the ‘World Athlete of the Year’ award. Now it will be interesting to see whether Kerala-born Sreejesh will be able to win a gold medal in his career or not, let us tell you that the Indian hockey team has won 8 gold medals in the Olympics.