PR Sreejesh after India's bronze medal win at Paris Olympics 2024© AFP
It was a somewhat perfect end to PR Sreejesh's illustrious career as he guided the Indian hockey team to bronze medal at the Paris Olympics 2024 on Thursday. Sreejesh was one of the top performers for the side as they claimed their second consecutive Olympic bronze medal. In the bronze medal encounter, India came back from one goal down to beat Spain 2-1 and Sreejesh once again pulled off multiple impressive saves. In an interview with NDTV, Sreejesh opened up about how he combated the constant shots from the Spanish attackers and praised the Indian team for defensive prowess.
"Being a goalkeeper, it is my duty to stop the shots. So I was just thinking about stopping them. That is not the right time to think about something different. I think they did a wonderful job as a team, as a good defensive team," Sreejesh told NDTV after the Bronze Medal match.
Following the victory, Sreejesh bowed down in front of the goal post while his teammates celebrated the triumph around him. When asked about his emotions at that moment, Sreejesh said that it was 'home' for him for the last 24 years and he felt that he should say goodbye in the 'proper way'.
"It was home for the last 24 years and when you are saying goodbye to that, it should be in a proper way. For the Indians, it is our culture to go in front of the goal. The best thing to do that because the supported faced me. It helped me, It supported every time when there is up and down," he added.
Sreejesh was part of the team that won two Asian Games gold, two Commonwealth Games silver and four Asian Champions Trophy gold medals. He has about 100-odd medals and awards adorning his trophy cabinet.
Sreejesh, who was honoured with the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in 2021, is only the second sportsperson from India to win the prestigious World Games Athlete of the Year Award, in 2021.
Besides, he has won consecutive FIH Goalkeeper of the Year Awards in 2021 and 2022.
(With PTI inputs)