PR Sreejesh became a player to score good marks in board exams – Dainik Savera Times

New Delhi: Indian hockey team’s experienced goalkeeper P R Sreejesh on Tuesday revealed that he chose sports to score good marks in the board and class 12 exams as at that time 60 percent marks were given to those playing for the state team. Sreejesh, who was the architect of India’s victory by saving a crucial penalty in the bronze medal match against Germany in the Tokyo Olympics, was not hockey as his first choice but he chose athletics because it was a popular sport in Kerala.

While talking to captain Harmanpreet Singh, Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey and women’s team captain Savita Punia during his visit to PTI office after returning after winning the gold medal in the Hangzhou Asian Games, he said, ‘I started in athletics with shot put but when I When I went to the sports hostel, I came to know that I had ‘flat feet’, so I also played volleyball and basketball.” Sreejesh, who won the gold medal in the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, said, “In Kerala, if you play for the state team. So at that time there was a provision to get 60 percent marks in the board. I thought what would be the easiest, so hockey seemed right to me because it was not popular in Kerala and there was not much competition.

He said, “I never thought that I would play for the country.” Most of the players in the state think that they should play at the national level and get a job and I was no different. But I am happy that I have an Olympic medal and I can be an inspiration for the future generation.” He said, ”In my childhood, I heard that PT Usha missed a medal by a narrow margin in the Los Angeles Olympics but now I have a medal to show. There is an Olympic medal for hockey.” He said that Olympic bronze and Asian Games gold will inspire the youth to play hockey.

He said, “Nowadays youth are more on social media. We had heard stories of India winning eight Olympic golds but nowadays everyone wants to see it in front of our eyes. When we won the Olympic medal, people started taking hockey seriously. When we won the Asian Champions Trophy and the Asiad, it became an inspiration for the youth to play hockey.

Crediting the Asian Games gold to teamwork, he said, “Our team is like sadya (traditional food of Kerala). Just like everything has its own role in Sadya, similarly everyone in the team has their own role to play.” He said, ”It is a great relief to get a direct ticket to the Paris Olympics through the Asian Games and Now we will be able to focus on preparations. I have seen the challenges of the qualifiers and we could not play the Beijing Olympics in 2008 after losing the qualifiers. Now we will not have to go through all this and efforts will be made to change the color of the medal in Paris.