Just a week ahead of the biggest sporting extravaganza of the world, the writing is clearly on 'the wall' for all to see. In a career full of records and brilliance, he is known for his off-field persona as he is for his on-field heroics. He has been one of the most reliable custodians in the goal for India. But the goalie who hails from the Pallikkara village in Kerala has a bigger task right now.
Leading the Indian hockey team to Olympic glory will be the biggest challenge for PR Sreejesh.
For a nation once unarguably the greatest in world hockey, the recent silver in the Champions Trophy offers much hope. Team India's resurgence was based on strong performance in the Asian Games followed by the silver at the Hockey World Cup. The silver at 2016 Champions Trophy did help their cause.
And behind the facile wins was the custodian.
Sreejesh made his international debut with the junior team in the test series against Australia. After making a tremendous impact in the closely fought series, there was no looking back for the ace goalie. Sreejesh made his debut for the senior side at the 2006 South Asian Games in Colombo. The world came to know about him at the Junior Asia Cup in 2008 where he was named the best goalkeeper in Asia. Sreejesh was a part of the 2012 Olympic Games but did not play a single match in the tournament because of India's number one goalkeeper Bharat Chettri.
Despite an unimpressive show by India at the 2014 Hockey World Cup, Sreejesh's performance was top-class in Netherlands. The ultimate moment for him came at the Asian Games final in Incheon where he saved two out of four penalties to help India beat Pakistan and directly qualify for Rio Olympics.
Since then, his progress has been steady. So has been his performances under the bar.
Right now, terming him as one of the best goalkeepers in the world is not at all wrong. The 26-year-old Kerala lad, who works with the Kerala Government, attained greatness through hard work, patience, dedication, and immense power of concentration. The Indian captain at Rio is a man who reassures millions of hockey lovers in our country. He is a captain who always put up his hand when the team needs him. It is the simplicity and humility which set him apart.
He is called 'The Wall’ of India because of his stick and his keeping skills. His defence, like a wall, is strong and solid. It can take anything the opposition forwards hit at him. Pretty much like a wall, the most important player in the team, Sreejesh, can withstand any condition and is efficient when the conditions are toughest. He can mould himself according to the team's situation. He has been so much more than just a goalkeeper, just a wall, that we need to look at his contributions since his debut in 2006 to understand his brilliance.
This year has been a dream one for Sreejesh.
First, he was rested for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup as Roelant Oltmans wanted to test the bench strength. He returned to lead the side at the Champions Trophy where India clinched a historic silver. Had it not been for Sreejesh’s acrobatic displays under the bar, India might not have reached the finals. Not just that, his captaincy was refreshingly aggressive in spite of 'leading from the back'.
Sreejesh, who completed 150 caps for India recently, always does anything and everything for the team. His behavior off the field is so exemplary that it won't be wrong to compare him with the other 'Wall of India'. While in today's world using swear words after scoring a goal or a costly mistake on the turf is common, Sreejesh's behavior shows that it doesn't need to be that way. Let’s not talk about his witty nature, which the journalists are used to facing. He shows us that playing the game is not enough playing the game is not enough but how you play the game is important as every game leaves a footprint in Indian hockey's glorious history.
"Chill, Sreejesh is there. He will save the match for India” has been the reaction of all passionate hockey lovers in his last couple of tournaments, considering the form he has been. There is a feeling that Indian hockey has made significant strides since the London Olympic catastrophe.
But there is a bigger challenge in front of him now. Can Sreejesh stand tall under the bar for the nation like a Wall to fetch a medal which has eluded us since 1980?
