Who is PR Sreejesh?

Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh, 33, Indian hockey team goalkeeper, had just one dream. To be part of an Olympic medal winning team. And his dream came true on Thursday when Indian defeated Germany 5-4 to clinch the bronze. The victory was sweeter as Sreejesh managed to foil many attempts on India’s goal. 

Born on May 8, 1988, in Kizhakkambalam village of Ernakulam district in Kerala to farmer parents, Sreejesh early sports interests were sprint, long jump and volleyball, in that order. At 12, he moved to Thiruvananthapuram. This was where his coach suggested that he take up goalkeeping. He started training in hockey and played at the Nehru Cup.

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He made the Junior national team in 2004 and debuted with the senior team in 2006, at the South Asian Games in Colombo. Since making his senior team debut in 2006, Sreejesh had only one dream in sight — to become an Olympic medallist.

Sreejesh was awarded the ‘Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament’ after the 2008 Junior Asia Cup. His second ‘Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament’ award came at the 2013 Asia Cup.

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Sreejesh has been a regular member of Indian hockey team since 2011, after saving two penalty stroke in the Asian Champions Trophy Final in Ordos City, China, against Pakistan. The Sreejesh-led Indian team crashed out in the quarter-finals at the 2016 Rio Olympics, this further spurred his quest for an Olympic medal.

The 33-year-old is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world today. Sreejesh, speaking about his Olympics training, said that it was mentally tough for him to stay away from his family amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When you make these sort of sacrifices, I always try to put a question mark after that, like why am I staying away from my kids, my family? But I know the answer,” he had said.

But the Olympic dream kept him going. Aware that this was likely to be his last Olympics, Sreejesh said, “That’s a dream and that is helping me to sacrifice everything.”

In 2017, Sreejesh was honoured with the fourth highest civilian award Padma Shri for his work in the field of sports. Sreejesh is married to Aneeshya, a former long jumper and an Ayurveda doctor. They have two children.