PARIS: He calls this space his home—the 17-by-12 feet rectangle between the posts and the turf in front. His life revolved around this space over two decades. Just before the game, PR Sreejesh went out onto the turf in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris. He spent some time in that happy space contemplating the life that has past and the future that lies in front. Nostalgic moments flashed by as he got ready to play the last match of his career. And it was a happy ending.
On Thursday at the Yves du Manoir Stadium in Colombes, Sreejesh entered a select group of hockey players to have won two consecutive medals for the country. India won 2-1 in the play-off. It ended with Sreejesh clearing the ball from the goal in the last seconds. The celebrations inside the stadium ensued. It went on and on and Sreejesh became the central figure. The wan who is walking into the sunset.
The 36-year-old was philosophical while describing his feeling when he went out there just before the game. He said he didn’t know anything about the world beyond that rectangle.
The ground has been his home for 24 years, and he said, “I was thinking how things will be outside this place. I never lived a life outside the field and I didn't know what's going to happen next.”
Minutes before the play-off, Sreejesh made an emotional post about his last game for India on X (formerly twitter). He wanted to recollect the moment he put on those pads, the day he entered the India camp for the first time back in 2002 (junior team). “Then Harmanpreet told me the dialogue in the Milkha Singh movie. Sree bhai koi puchega, aapka aakhri match hai, to hum bolega khelegi bhi waise. And then the team did it.”
It is indeed one hell of a ride. Born in Kizhakkambalam village, in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, where hockey is not the first love, it's remarkable how Sreejesh made it into the national team.
His career spanned 20 years, including the junior national team and 18 years in the senior national team. Though coach Craig Fulton and captain Harmanpreet Singh wanted him to reconsider his decision, Sreejesh said he had already made up his mind. “I always remember one of my coach's words. He told me, 'you always retire when people should say, Why retire now instead of why not retire?'" he said.
So much has been the emotional connection with the posts that they have turned into his alter-ego, Sreejesh’s other self. He speaks with them. Chats with them and vents anger at them. “Things have changed after I turned into a super senior,” he said after the game. “I used to be a very aggressive keeper. I used to swear at my teammates, use expletives to spur them on. Then the junior set of players came in. The coach told me that the juniors might get demotivated if I swear at them.”
With age, he matured. Sreejesh found a perfect solution. He started talking to the post. “I started swearing at them and gradually I started speaking with them,” he smiled. “I sing to them. Just like a girlfriend.”
Sreejesh said the state of hockey is very healthy. He was fortunate to have been part of the teams that won two bronze medals. They have given belief to the younger players. “They should feel fortunate that we have won a medal after years of toil,” he said. “The youngsters have walked into the team and won a medal. They will not know about how hard it had been for us to win a medal.”
Indian hockey is breathing life. It has turned into a symbol of triumph. But for India, the space between the goal post will no longer look the same without Sreejesh. But the legacy he is living will always remain in our hearts.