Hockey World Cup 2023: 'India working hard for podium finish; will be dream come true' - Sreejesh

By Team Newsable | First Published Jan 19, 2023, 4:58 PM IST

Hockey World Cup 2023: Team India is desperate to win a medal in the event that it has not won since 1975. Meanwhile, PR Sreejesh has asserted that the team is working hard on the same, which would also fulfil his dream.

Star India men's hockey team goalkeeper PR Sreejesh has achieved almost everything in his 17-year-long illustrious career, except for an FIH Men's Hockey World Cup medal, and he wants to fulfil his "dream" this time in the ongoing showpiece at home. The 34-year-old Sreejesh had played a significant role in India's historic bronze win in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. The team hopes to finish on the podium in the ongoing World Cup in Bhubaneswar Rourkela after a hiatus of 48 years. India had won their maiden World Cup medal, a gold, in the 1975 edition in Kuala Lumpur.

"That [HWC medal] is the only medal missing in my cabinet. The Indian team is working hard to finish on the podium, which is my dream. If we do that, I can also say that I have a medal from the Olympics and the World Cup," Sreejesh told PTI.

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Sreejesh, who has played 226 senior international matches since making his debut in 2006, has won medals in all prestigious tournaments except HWC. He was part of the gold and bronze-winning Asian Games teams in 2014 and 2018, the Commonwealth Games (CWG) silver-winning teams in 2014 and 2022, and the FIH Champions Trophy silver-clinching teams in 2016 and 2018. He won gold in Asian Champions Trophy in 2011, 2016 and 2018. He is also a three-time Olympian and plays in his fourth World Cup.

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Some of the Tokyo Olympics bronze-winning team members, like Birendra Lakra and Rupinder Pal Singh, have retired since then. Talking about them, Sreejesh said, "Every Olympic cycle, coaches try to change a lot of players because they [coaches] plan for the next four years. That is going to be more critical, so that is why there have been a lot of changes in our team."

"A lot of youngsters have replaced senior players. So, they will get a lot of experience and be ready to give their best for the country at the end of this [Olympic] cycle," said the shot-stopper from Kerala. Sreejesh agreed with current Indian team goalkeeping coach Dennis van de Pol, who had said that young Krishan Pathak has matured enough and is ready to replace the veteran custodian when he decides to call time on his glorious career.

"Pathak has been with the national team since 2016, when he played in the Junior World Cup and joined the senior team in 2017. He was with me for the 2018 World Cup and the 2018 Asian Games. He has got enough experience to play for the team now," added Sreejesh.

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"When you are the senior-most, you need to look back and consider who can replace you and who can play better for the country because being in the Indian hockey team is not a permanent job for anybody. Some day you need to step out, and someone will take your place, and with experience and the way he is playing, he [Pathak] is ready to perform for the country," Sreejesh continued.

Sreejesh felt happy that the world body, FIH, is concerned about the safety of players and was thinking of giving more reaction time to penalty corner defenders but doesn't see any reason to change rules in this regard. The FIH is studying tweaking penalty corner hit regulations to provide more safety to defending players as the high-speed ball travels in a crowded area.

Asked about this, Sreejesh said, "In any sport, the safety of players comes first. I am happy that the FIH is concerned about the safety of the players. But, the thing is that we should not change anything in penalty corners because the PC is one of the most beautiful things in hockey, and it excites the game. The way out could be better equipment quality, and better use of them can prevent injuries."

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The current Indian team has done very well in defending penalty corners, as it has not conceded a goal from set pieces in the two matches it has played in this HWC. But, Sreejesh refused to compare players of different generations and said the current lot is the best in this game aspect.

"Every generation has its best PC defenders, and you saw our current players doing well in defending PCs. So, when the system or the technology improves, that helps defend penalty corners. With experience also, we can defend penalty corners. In the match against England, Manpreet Singh was the first rusher, and he is no longer a youngster. Amit Rohidas is also an outstanding first rusher. But you cannot compare players of different generations, be it PC takers or PC defenders," Sreejesh reckoned.

He said that in hockey, just as scoring from penalty corners is essential, defending set pieces is equally crucial. "Every team spends a lot of time on how to defend penalty corners. The result is that we are doing very well in PC defence. Penalty corner takers are also excellent, Harmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar and Amit Rohidas," wondered Sreejesh.

"So, it inspires the PC defenders also to do well. Coach Graham Reid is working hard on PC defending, and technically, when we are watching opponent teams, we know who is their best drag-flicker, and we try to send out our best defenders," Sreejesh concluded.

(With inputs from PTI)

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