‘We’ve made this a habit’: Legendary hockey goalie PR Sreejesh on winning bronze medal at Paris Olympics

NEW DELHI: Following his team’s bronze medal win at the Paris Olympics, former Indian men’s hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh expressed his feelings saying that the team have made the habit of winning the bronze medal at the Olympics.

“We won Bronze the last time too, we’ve made this a habit,” Sreejesh said while speaking to ANI.

The former player further spoke on his retirement saying that it’s not the end of his journey.

“It’s the end of a journey. But if one leaves, several others come in. Happy that my team played for me & I’m leaving with medal,” Sreejesh added.

#WATCH | Delhi: India’s #Bronze medal-winning Men’s Hockey team member PR Sreejesh says, “We won Bronze the last time too, we’ve made this a habit…”

On his retirement, he says, “It’s the end of a journey. But if one leaves, several others come in. Happy that my team played for… pic.twitter.com/oAg8zw4ZTQ

— ANI (@ANI) August 13, 2024

The Harmanpreet Singh-led side secured a historic bronze medal, defeating Spain 2-1, marking their second consecutive Olympic medal, an achievement last accomplished 52 years ago.

The match, held at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium here on Thursday, was especially significant as it also served as the farewell game for legendary Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who played his last international match.

The Indian team, led by Captain Harmanpreet Singh, delivered a stellar performance, with the skipper himself scoring two crucial goals in the 30th and 33rd minutes. Their victory not only secured the Bronze medal but also solidified India’s position as a dominant force in international hockey.

Sreejesh was also the star of the match, pulling out some memorable and stunning saves. A veteran of over 300 International caps, three Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games and World Cups, Sreejesh featured in his fourth Olympic Games. Having made his debut at the 2010 World Cup, Sreejesh has been part of various memorable wins for India, which include a gold medal in the 2014 Asian Games, a bronze medal in Jakarta-Palembang, the joint-winning team of the Asian Champions Trophy in 2018, the gold medal-winning team of 2019 FIH Men’s Series Finals in Bhubaneswar and the silver medal winning team at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The 36-year-old goalie was one of the main architects of India’s historic Bronze medal win at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. He was instrumental in India’s third-place finish at the FIH Hockey Pro League 2021/22.

Sreejesh was awarded the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in 2021 and is only the second sportsperson from India to win the award of World Games Athlete of the Year 2021. He has also won back-to-back FIH Goalkeeper of the Year awards in 2021 and 2022, respectively. (ANI)