KOCHI: It was the stuff of dreams as PR Sreejesh and Manuel Frederick reached into their pockets and fished out something which had a hypnotic effect as all eyes turned towards them. The two hockey players, both goalkeepers and hailing from Kerala were displaying their glittering Olympic medals which were won 49 years apart.
The two icons were brought together under one roof on Thursday for a felicitation ceremony as NRI businessman Shamsheer Vayalil offered Sreejesh a cash reward of one crore rupees while Manuel was also gifted with ten lakh rupees.
Coincidentally, they are the only two sportspersons from Kerala to have tasted Olympic medal success and the duo underlined the importance of why the game and sports in general needs to be promoted more in the state.
"There is no Indian team without Sreejesh and everyone knows the impact that he has had," said Manuel emphatically about the contribution of Sreejesh in India's bronze medal success in Tokyo and his years of service to the national team.
"I shouldn't be saying this but our team had some weaknesses. Our forward line should be more productive and we need more ball-playing players who can dribble. If we work on this, and with Sreejesh, we can achieve great things at the Paris Olympics as well," he said.
The veteran went on to say that the state needed to recognise what hockey has brought to it.
"We should realise that it is hockey, and two players who played a major part in the team's success that brought Olympic success to Kerala. So the sport should be promoted through creating stadiums and turfs and also recognizing the success of people like Sreejesh through cash awards and other incentives," the veteran said.
Meanwhile, Sreejesh also suggested that the sport needs a desperate shot in the arm in the state.
"We need to start thinking about developing hockey in Kerala. And we should start by focusing on the basic facilities like astroturf. There is only one astroturf in Kerala which is in Kollam and that has been used as a Covid center for one and a half years. Then there is the Maharajas College ground (in Kochi) and many players protested due to its poor condition and maintenance. We need to seriously think about how to develop hockey," said Sreejesh.
Meanwhile, the 33-year-old has his focus on achieving more success with the national team with a lot of important tournaments leading up to the Paris 2024 Olympics.
"With this medal, we gained a lot of confidence going into the upcoming events. We need to qualify for Paris so the focus is to win the Asian Games as it is the easiest way to get into the Olympics. That will be our first target. Then we will be hosting the World Cup. The last time we couldn't qualify for semifinals, this time, it is a big target to finish on the podium," he said.