India’s most recent goalie PR Sreejesh retired recently after winning his second consecutive bronze medal at the Paris Olympics. This triumph has already earned him respect among his peers who considered him a living legend in this particular game and will definitely inspire future generations of India’s hockey players.
This is how they secured it: eight times Olympic champions, India won the bronze medal defeating Spain 2-1 in play-off match at Paris. 1980 was when India last clinched an Olympic gold in men’s hockey.
“He is the best human being, it is hard to find such people like him, the Great Wall of India, what can I say other than he gave everything on that field as his life was only about hockey,” Parami News quoted Lalit as saying during a felicitation ceremony.
“My heartfelt thanks to all those who supported hockey in this country; once again, just like before but with more intensity, ‘this popular game has never left Indians’ hearts and they still love it.”
Lalit commended Harmanpreet Singh for being the top goal scorer of the tournament and an inspired captain who scored ten goals.
“(Harmanpreet) has been give a new name (Sarpanch) by our country. Rightly so, he got that name from people who love hockey because he is an excellent leader showing enormous personality throughout and becomIng top scorer in Olympics is huge achievement”
“He becomes a legend, now there are many things left to do for us…our vision should move ahead where we can turn that medal into another color and realize our dream.”
Lalit recalls how they emerged victorious against Great Britain despite playing over 40 minutes with only 10 players in quarters.
“I would like to thank my coaching staff as well as every player involved; we played like one group plus their fighting spirit showed up also. When we could not have backed off at that moment because we had to give our best there was no other option. Well, it’s been that match and I can’t say more.”
Sreejesh received good wishes from Jarmanpreet Singh after retiring from the national sport.
“I don’t need to tell you about Sreejesh because he is an all-timer, people know him as the Wall all over India and he is a legendary player too. He is a great player and we had fun playing together, so I hope Sreejesh does good for hockey,” he concluded.
He also praised Harmanpreet’s role during the competition as captain.
“I being a goal machine of our team helps us so much in this regard; in fact, he ceases to be ‘Sarpanch’.”
They said that this season’s Olympics were enjoyable for him since it was his first time to participate in such games.
“This year’s Olympics has been amazing for me because it was my first one and I just wanted to have a good performance for my team mates and my country.”
