Sreejesh, Singhs and the joy of two

Rohit Mahajan

Tribune News Service

Paris, August 9

“When it comes to hockey, we’ve got the emotions,” PR Sreejesh, the avuncular man, retiring goalkeeper around whom the players rallied to win the hockey bronze yesterday, said in his final press meeting as part of the Indian team.

Sreejesh, who was among the 11 players who won a medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, played his final game for India, against Spain in the bronze playoff, yesterday. The genial Kerala man had been asked to compare hockey and cricket, their state in India; he spoke about the money in cricket and the emotion in hockey. “India’s emotions are attached with hockey. This is special, and we feel it. When you count money and emotions and love, I think money stays lower!”

The love, the care the people shower on him and his team, said Sreejesh, really matter very much to him and the others.

Sreejesh, named the second flagbearer for India at the closing ceremony — Manu Bhaker was named the first — was in his element after his second Olympics bronze.

Mammootty, the silver screen superstar from Kerala, showered praise on Sreejesh; Sreejesh, with his sparkling wit, was no less than a superstar himself. After the win, he climbed atop the goal, replicating his Tokyo Olympics celebrations; his teammates faced him, bowed to him, and he opened his arms in a grand gesture of love and affection for them. Captain Harmanpreet Singh lifted Sreejesh on his broad shoulders and carried him around, and Sreejesh soaked in the adulation from the team and the crowd.

Harmanpreet, the leading goalscorer at Paris 2024, said the team owed it to Sreejesh to win it for him. “This was his last match and it was an emotional moment for the team. Since we’ve got here, we’ve been talking about dedicating this tournament to Sreejesh because his journey is incredible,” said Harmanpreet. “Playing this long for India is amazing. We’re so happy to have won the bronze medal for the country and for him.”

Nine in the squad are from Punjab — with so many Singhs in the line-up, foreign journalists were wondering if hockey has been restricted to this state!

Tokyo 2020 captain Manpreet Singh, having played his final Olympics match, said: “We played very well in these Games, we were not going to return home without a medal. In the semifinals, we faltered a bit, unfortunately. But today we were determined to win — for Sreejesh! It was his final Olympics match... He’s been a wall for the country, he’s saved thousands of goals!”

Mandeep Singh, among the 11 who won their second Olympics medal yesterday, said it was wonderful to have so many Punjab players in the team — that helps, he said. “But you know, when we start playing for the country, all that does not really matter,” he added. “We become India players and it does not matter which state you are from.” Indeed.

Eleven members of the 16-player squad became multiple Olympics medallists — captain Harmanpreet, Sreejesh, Manpreet, Hardik Singh, Gurjant Singh, Mandeep, Lalit Upadhyay, Sumit, Shamsher Singh, Amit Rohidas and Vivek Prasad now possess two bronze medals. The last time this happened, it was 1972 — 52 years, and winning Olympics medals is becoming a habit again.