Paris: Every Olympic medal is considered priceless but PR Sreejesh picked the Tokyo bronze over the Paris one of the same hue as that acted as catalyst for a generation of players who didn’t know what success at the elite level meant.
“(As young players) we’ve been hearing about the Olympics medal, the glory days of Indian hockey. But none of us had seen a medal live or we never held a medal. So when I got that medal (in Tokyo), when we, the country celebrated that medal, that gave us confidence that we can do it,” said the goalkeeper during a press conference on Thursday.
“That helped us to trust ourselves every time we stepped on the field. Now we are not talking about going to the Olympics and winning a medal. Every time, when even the youngest player in the camp arrived, he was talking about medal. So that medal helped us to believe in ourselves, to achieve a higher plan. I think that helped us a lot to believe that we are better than any other team,” added Sreejesh of the Tokyo high where Indians ended a 43-year-old wait for an Olympic medal in hockey.
The 36-year-old who announced before the tournament that this will be his last sojourn, said despite being in peak shape he won’t change his mind because he wants to bow out on a high. “One piece of advice that I got in my career from one of my coaches is when you retire, people should not say, why not? They should ask you, why? And I think this is the right time to take that call.”
Sreejesh, an exuberant character who often talks to his goalpost, spent a quiet moment under the bar before the start of the game against Spain. When asked to reflect on that, Sreejesh said he just recollected his entire career that was coming to an end in little over an hour.
“I never lived a life outside that ground. So I didn't know what is going to happen to me next. So you know that when the team warm up, it's a different scenario, a different situation. Every player begins with different emotions but I just wanted to have my own feelings. Just to recall all the memories from the day I stepped onto the hockey field. The day I put on the pads for the first time. And the way I jumped into the Indian camp for the first time which was back in 2002. I was just revising myself.”
Skipper Harmanpreet Singh, who endured a poor World Cup in Bhubaneswar-Rourkela last year and was pilloried heavily but led the attack brilliantly here with 10 goals to earn high praises, said having a solid support staff helped him overcome the tough time.
“I am surrounded by the best. I have best team-mates, best coaches. Because of them, I’m here. I think that part of the World Cup journey was tough for me. It was a very hard time. But my team-mates believed in me. This is our mantra — we trust each other and we stick together. Because of our team, I think whatever we are achieving, I think it's a great journey. We are just enjoying life now.”