In expectation of a golden swansong for Sreejesh

CHENNAI: Never in recent times has the passion for the national game hit the peak. Submerged by the euphoria of cricket, hockey for many decades has taken a backseat, but the tide is turning around.

This is a moment, where the entire country is sitting with fingers crossed. It has been over four decades (precisely 44 years) since Indian hockey touched Olympic gold and here, we stand just two steps away from bringing back the golden era.

To reminisce, India tasted gold way back in 1980, which was their eighth Olympic triumph. Led by Chennai’s own Vasudevan Bhaskaran, the Moscow Olympics in 1980 is etched in golden letters for Tamil Nadu’s hockey lovers.

Meanwhile, after watching India edge out Great Britain against all odds in the Paris quarter-finals, thanks to the efforts of the sturdy custodian, veteran goalkeeper Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh. Well, this is his swansong and he expects it to be golden.

In Chennai last year during India’s title triumph in the Asian Champions Trophy, Sreejesh had mentioned that he is in the process of winding up his career, but not before the Olympics.

It was indeed his dream to make a glittering career climax and he knows that moment is within sight.

In a recent Hockey India special interview, Sreejesh’s better half Dr Anneshya also said that everyone back home, especially Kochi, is excited about Sreejesh’s fourth Olympic appearance (a feat only achieved by the legendary Dhanraj Pillay).

“This is truly special, and we all expect nothing less than gold,” she was quoted in the interview.

It is not just her’s or Kerala’s wish, but the entire nation is praying for the moment of glory.

Sreejesh, who has proved his mettle on the world stage with umpteen number of awards and appreciations, deserves a golden swansong and the team a crowning glory.

It was in 1928 that Indian hockey won its first Olympic gold and the nation’s dominance was evident with triumphs in 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1964, and 1980 Olympics before the national game went into shell.

Fortunately for the game, four years ago, India broke their medal jinx in hockey after four decades. The team, which boasted of Sreejesh (younger by four years), won the bronze medal in Tokyo Games, an achievement that gave hockey a revival boost in the country.

The light of confidence continues to burn bright in Sreejesh and his hunger can subsidise only with his career’s best climax.

His calmness and shrewdness are playing a crucial role in India’s show at the Paris Olympics hockey arena.

In his mind, he is ready to take on Germany and later Spain or Netherlands for that golden moment and the entire team is fully behind him in his aspirations.

His comments on X soon after the match against Great Britain said it all. He wrote, “This is how much it meant for all of us. Like I said, this could have been the last, but we’ve earned the right to play two more! Your support has been our strength, India. Let's keep this dream alive together!”

Born in 1988 and debuted in 2006, this man from Kerala has had a great illustrious career and is the most enviable in recent times. His achievements apart from being part of many triumphs with the team were the honours bestowed on him.

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) declared him the best goalkeeper of the year in 2020-21 and 2021-22. Hockey India honoured him with the Baljit Singh Award for Goalkeeper of The Year in 2014, 2021 & 2023 and he was also bestowed with the Arjuna Award in 2015, Padma Shri in 2017 and Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in 2021.

Most of the former legends of Indian hockey were excited, emotional, and ecstatic while commenting on Sreejesh’s performance so far. One thing in common is that all of them have started dreaming of a golden finish.

Former India goalkeeper Munir Sait, a member of the bronze medal winning team in 1968 Mexico City Olympics expressed his excitement in a brief chat with DT Next on Monday.

Stating that India’s chances of winning hockey gold at the Paris Olympics are bright, he hailed the present custodian’s performance.

Saying Sreejesh has been fantastic so far, he said: “He in my opinion one of the best goalkeepers in recent years on synthetic turf. His reflexes, anticipation and eye for the ball are superb. His handling of the penalties is out of the blue. So far he has turned out to be the best goalkeeper of the tournament.”

More laurels came from yet another former custodian Mir Ranjan Negi, whose personal hockey story had inspired the making of Shah Rukh Khan’s blockbuster ‘Chak De India’.

The Paris show has, indeed, been a Chak De moment, no wonder Negi told DT Next that he was emotional watching Sreejesh’s performance and India’s progress.

“I have not seen a better goalkeeper than Sreejesh in the last two decades. His cool and calm composure under the bar and his controlled aggression is worth mentioning,” said Negi on Monday.

“His reflexes and his judgement makes him one of the greatest goalkeepers of modern hockey. It was only his performance that India was able to sustain the onslaught by Great Britain and other teams. We all were in tears when he saved goals one after the other and finally, India won the tiebreaker,” detailed Negi.

Negi was angry too at the red card treatment belted out on India by European officials on the field.

“This team is like a wounded tigress ready to take revenge for the harsh treatment meted out to them by the European umpires. If the players can control their nerves, there is no reason why we should not get the gold,” claimed Negi.

Legendary Dhanraj Pillay, who like Sreejesh has played four Olympics and has many memorable achievements, was confident of India going all the way to taste gold.

“If you see the last six matches how India has performed, I am confident about these boys, especially the senior ones like Sreejesh, Harmanpreet, and Manpreet and the way they are gelling with all the juniors in the team,” said Pillay while chatting with DT Next.

On India’s performance with just 10 players, Pillay said, “This team has practiced very hard to deal with such a situation and that paid dividends against Great Britain. It shows they are mentally tough and the way the forward line is supporting the defence is remarkable.”

The former captain went on to say that he was confident about the prospects in the semi-final against Germany.

“They will give 110% to ensure entry into the final and go on to repeat history after more than four decades,” he said.

Pillay also had special advice for the team. “All strategies and game plans will be made by the coaching staff and support officials. Just forget the pressure, and enjoy 60 minutes of your game. All the best Team India.”

Meanwhile, another Chennai-based player and former India captain Mohammed Riaz had a word of caution for the team. According to him every match from now on is a final.

“A semi-final is like a final match. They have to play all out. If there is a scoring chance, we have to make use of the opportunity and at the same time defence has to play strong and see to it that no penalty corners are conceded.”