Every tournament sees a player or set of players grab the eyeballs for all the ‘right’ reasons, and for India at the 2014 Rabobank World Cup in Hague, there was one guy, who panned out to be a standout performer by a long, long way.
Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh left nobody in
doubt that he was India’s ‘find’ of the World Cup – coming up with a plethora
of saves to ensure India stayed competitive. Save for the first half of India’s
3-2 win over Malaysia and 3-0 win over Korea, Sreejesh was a ‘busy’ man in the
Indian cage. “Look, goalkeepers do not always get their due for their
performances be it India or for that matter any country. So I’m little
surprised at all the praise over my performance,” Sreejesh says in an exclusive
interview.
The Kerala lad attributes his robust
goalkeeping skills in the World Cup to his stint he had under Dutch goalkeeping coach Martijn Drijver (who had earlier coached star shot stopper Guus Vogels) during the country’s exposure tour of the Netherlands
a month ahead of the big-ticket event. “I think the stint with Guus Vogels really
helped. He stressed on two things ‘watch the ball’ and ‘stop’ – he advised me
not to commit myself and keep things simple – his inputs worked for me,” he
reveals.
The 29-year-old Indian goalie feels the
Indian team shaped up well at the World Cup, but felt short on the ‘experience’
quotient. “If you look at most teams you will find that there were much more
experienced than we were. No doubt, we have a talented side, but in big games
experience do matter and we fell short in this area,” he quips.
Sreejesh touched a pertinent point when
he accentuated the need to have ‘stability’ in the side. “I can assure you that
if we have this current bunch of players till the 2016 Rio Olympics, we will
stand a bright chance of making a podium finish. Most of our youngsters will
get more mature and gain enough international experience by then, which will
help us in a big way,” the soft-spoken lad observes.
The conversation veers towards the development
of ‘desi’ coaches and Sreejesh believes there is a massive need to put a
process in place, which ensures churning out quality coaches. “We lack good
Indian coaches. The likes of Harendra Singh, CR Kumar and Baljit Singh Saini
are really good coaches - I think they
should conduct clinics in every state through a planned programme wherein at
least four to five in every state can attend this coaching clinics and take their skills to
the next level. For Indian hockey to be on the upswing, it’s really important
to upgrade our coaches or at least produce quality home-grown coaches,” he
remarks.
It may be recalled that Sreejesh was the
hero in the inaugural 2011 Asian Champions Trophy, where he effected two
brilliant saves in the penalty shootout of the final game against Pakistan,
which India won 4-2. He cherished those moments even today. “Any win against
Pakistan is hugely satisfying. My performance in that final match helped to
establish myself in the national side. It’s like an once-in-a-lifetime thing
for me,” he recalls.
He is upbeat about India’s chances at
the upcoming Commonwealth Games. “We are improving with each game and I’m
confident that we will fare well in Glasgow,” he fires a parting shot.
The writer can be contacted at: suhridbarua@gmail.com
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