From a rank ‘outsider’ to Indian hockey skipper

For those familiar with Sreejesh P.R.’s days of struggle at the junior India camps, it will be hard to fathom that he has made his way up so rapidly and will lead the team at the Rio Olympic Games.

Back in 2004, Sreejesh’s early days at the junior camp in New Delhi, the Ernakulam-born six-foot-tall goalkeeper did not know Hindi, was in “danger” of being sent home since his family could not afford `5,000 for his goalkeeping kit and was constantly mocked by fellow campers, who found him a ‘misfit’.

In the fast-paced life of the capital city, Sreejesh was the odd one out. Clad in a lungi with torn slippers, he wasn’t someone they were expecting and the teenagers did not take to it kindly. While some made fun of his traditional clothes, others offered him money to buy himself new slippers — something he never accepted. On the field, however, they all went quiet as the lanky youngster threw himself at everything and stood out.

Every night after training, Sreejesh would spend time stitching his torn jersey — he only had two of them and knew he could not call up his farmer parents asking even for a paltry amount — and prepare for next day’s training.

Those were tough times for Sreejesh, but they taught him lessons he does not forget even now. More than hockey, it taught him how to fight the odds and turn things in his favour whatever the situation.

It is an attitude that he carries to the field even now — fearless and confident — and is known for both by team mates and his opponents.

As the 29-year-old, who is the only living Olympian to have a road named after him in hometown Kerala, prepares to lead the team at Rio, he cannot help but recall the time that shaped his future.

“I think there were days when I did not even have `100 to spend, but as long as I had a place to stay and food, I was okay. I was not this competitive guy who wanted to play for India, nor did these things made me angry,” recalls Sreejesh.

“I used to feel embarrassed and sad, but never bitter. My father is a farmer and I had seen him work almost 20 hours a day to sustain us. So, I never called them for money. My only focus was to get a job.”

And an India berth, one asks. “India berth ” stresses Sreejesh. “At that time, that was not really my priority. Also, I was not sure if I was good enough for that. I wanted to be a physical education teacher and support my family.

“I think I took things seriously when Harendra (Singh) sir saw the potential in me and said you can be the best if you work hard. I enjoyed goalkeeping and things changed when I was picked for the junior team.”

At the senior level, Sreejesh spent many years playing second fiddle to Baljit Singh, Adrian Dsouza and Bharat Chetri, but when his time came in 2013 he made the place his own.

Today, Sreejesh has carved his name among the best goalkeepers in the world, played a crucial role in India’s 2014 Asian Games gold medal triumph effecting crucial saves, is an Arjuna awardee and was named Hockey India player of the year in 2016.

Former India skipper Jagbir Singh calls him ‘Sreesreshth’ (better than the best), while his team mates have named him the ‘Wall of India’. His fans want him to be nicknamed the ‘defence minister’ for his consistent saves!

But ask Sreejesh what matters the most, and his answer is always the same: “The team”.

“No individual can claim honours alone or should be credited for the victory. It begins and ends with a team. Even when I received the player of the year award, I felt it belonged to my team,” says Sreejesh, who will become the second goalkeeper after Chetri to lead India at the Olympics.

“I believe in communication. I never hold back when I see someone is little laid back or lacklustre, even when I am not the captain. I shout instructions to everyone from my goalpost.

“I believe it is very important to fight together. I also tell them to enjoy their hockey. Many times between breaks or change overs, I even sing songs to keep myself calm.“I think the secret to excelling is enjoying the game and I do not want to give that up ever.”

In the last two years, almost every Indian success has been replete with one common aspect: Sreejesh’s excellent performance. So much so that experts had begun to say that on days Sreejesh did not do well, India could not win.

Says Sreejesh, “For me, it means they trust me and do not want me to fail. It means I cannot afford to have an off day. I read all that stuff and take that as motivation.”

All this though took years of hard work and constant analysing. If Harendra spotted him during junior days, the man responsible for shaping Sreejesh into a top-level goalkeeper was South Africa’s Dave Staniforth.

Staniforth’s first reaction after seeing Sreejesh at a national camp was that the Keralite did not have a very clean style of play, which he named jokingly the “lungi style” of goalkeeping. Work first begun on basics and then on what the top goalkeepers were doing differently.

From a learner, Sreejesh slowly became a man to be feared. It is that quality that the world and Indian fans would want to see when their ‘keeper of faith” leads the team in Rio in three weeks from now.