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‘Itching to set the record straight’
NEW DELHI: PR Sreejesh is a fiery character on the hockey field. Known for his quick reflexes and courageous defence during shoot outs, India’s newly-appointed captain
NEW DELHI: PR Sreejesh is a fiery character on the hockey field. Known for his quick reflexes and courageous defence during shoot outs, India’s newly-appointed captain is confident of leading India to Olympic glory in Rio. In a freewheeling chat with HT, Sreejesh opens up about the team’s goals and strategies for the quadrennial event.
You were the star of the Asian Games final in 2014 that sealed India’s Olympic berth. Two years on, where do you find the team?
We went to the Asian Games with the sole motive of clinching the Olympic berth, which we did. In two years after that, we have beaten the best teams in the world and have got beaten too. If you look at our fitness levels, they have improved a lot. We are not intimidated by higher-ranked teams anymore. We believe we can beat anyone. That, I believe, is the biggest change in the two years.
After successful campaigns at Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and Champions Trophy, we seem to have gone off the boil in the Six-Nation Trophy in Spain.
By the time we reached Valencia, we had been on the road for over three months. Also, we took time to acclimatise to the heat in Spain. I am not giving these as reasons for our failure, but these factors did contribute. There was a bit of tinkering in team combination and formations. So I am not reading too much into our failure.
You have played a lot under Sardar Singh. How different is your leadership style from his?
A lot. We are completely opposite. Sardar paaji is all cool and composed. I am very vocal and aggressive. I even abuse my defenders and forwards on the field (laughs). But what is said on the field is left on the field; nothing personal. I have the best seat to see how the team is playing, so I make full use of it.
In 2 years since our Olympic qualification, we have had a musical chair of sorts as far as coaches are concerned. How would you describe playing under Terry Walsh, Paul van Ass and Roelant Oltmans?
Yeah, a lot was going on with coaches (laughs). See all of them had different styles and strategies. Terry was defensive in his approach. Oltmans has a very attacking gameplan. But both of them were big fans of Indian hockey. They absolutely love the wristwork and kalakaari that the Indian hockey players are born with. We made steady progress under Paul as well.
Our last two Olympics were disastrous. We didn’t qualify for Beijing Games and finished last in London. Good time to change history?
Certainly. There are seven players, including me, who were part of London Olympics, and trust me, we are itching to set the record straight. We prefix our names with ‘Olympian’, but when someone asks, ‘What position did you achieve?’ we say ‘last’. Imagine. Every time we go to London, we are reminded of that humiliating campaign. There’s lot of anger and a sense of revenge brewing in those who played in the London Games. Recently, when we went there to play the Champions Trophy, we again remembered that botched campaign. But you know what, that pain and anguish has brought us here. We want to change history and make some too. We need to do something to get rid of that pain.
