With the Indian Men’s Hockey Team making headlines at the 2024 Paris Olympics, one name stands out among the heroes: Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh. Known for his exceptional skills at the goalposts, Sreejesh has been instrumental in India’s victories over New Zealand, Argentina, Ireland, and Great Britain.
As India prepares to face Germany in the semi-finals tonight at 10:30 pm IST, the spotlight is firmly on Sreejesh.
The quarterfinal against Great Britain marked the 23rd time Sreejesh stood in goal for India during a shoot-out, securing victory on 13 occasions. His performance was so extraordinary that a British coach watching from the stands exclaimed, “Superman!” in awe of his abilities.
Sreejesh comes from a humble background in Kizhakkambalam, a suburb of Kochi, Kerala. Born into a farmer’s family, he was fueled by his father’s sacrifice. Recognising his talent, his father had sold their cow to purchase a hockey kit for young Sreejesh.
But the struggle had just begun for him. Sreejesh was constantly mocked for his looks, traditional attire (veshti) and Malayalam accent. Being told that a Kerala player would never make it big in Indian hockey, there were times when he wanted to give up. But his father’s sacrifices kept him going.
Sreejesh practised day and night, making it to the Indian junior hockey team. He won three Asian Games medals, including gold in Hangzhou 2022, which secured India’s spot in the Paris Olympics. Named FIH’s (International Hockey Federation) best goalkeeper in 2021 and 2022, he silenced his critics with his stellar performance.
A Hindustan Times article mentioned that Sreejesh believes a goalkeeper should be a ‘crazy person’ and must know the art of intimidating. “Crazy, because you just need to have the guts to stand in front of that ball. The second thing is aggression; you need to be an aggressive person, and those reflexes have to be there. You don’t get much time to just think, ‘Save’. No, you just need to save it. Then you realise, ‘Okay, I made that save’,” he had said.
Having acted as the wall of the Indian hockey team for over a decade, the lonely tusker is now representing India one last time at the Paris Olympics. The country hopes for a medal as the ultimate farewell for its greatest goalkeeper.
Watch this video to learn more about PR Sreejesh’s journey:
Sources:
Paris 2024 Olympics: How ‘Superman’ PR Sreejesh proved to be Indian hockey’s saviour again in thrilling win over GB: By Mihir Vasavda for The Indian Express, published on 5 August 2024.
‘Became goalkeeper because I didn’t like running at all’: PR Sreejesh shares his journey: Published in Hindustan Times on 28 May 2024.
Edited by Khushi Arora
