The journey of Asian Games started with gold, I want to end it with that: Sreejesh
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The goalkeeper who played an important role in helping the country win the gold medal in hockey in the Asian Games in 2014. P R Sreejesh Will play his last match this year. In 2014, the Asian Games were organized in Incheon. In the final match of hockey, India had a match with Pakistan. The match ended in a tie, in the title match, both teams were given a penalty stroke. PR Sreejesh, who was doing the goalkeeping for India, saved two penalty strokes. indian hockey team Had won the title. He is going to play his last match in the Asian Games starting from September 23 in Hangzhou. He said that I want to end it in the same way as I started with gold. I want to repeat the performance done in 2014 once again.
This is my last Asian Games: PR Sreejesh
PR Sreejesh said during a conversation with PTI, I started the game with gold in 2014 in Incheon. I have also played an important role in the country winning the bronze medal after 41 years in the Tokyo Olympics 2020. During the conversation, he said that this is my last Asian Games. I started my game with a gold medal and I wish to end my career with that as well. The 35-year-old Sreejesh aims to qualify for the Paris Olympics with a yellow medal at the Asian Games. He believes that there is no extra pressure on the team. During the conversation, he also mentioned the beauty of the Asian Games. “The beauty of the Asian Games is that in hockey we can directly qualify for the Olympics. However, I never felt the pressure of it. We have to play according to our potential and fame because after the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, we have recently won the Asian Champions Trophy as well.
There has been a lot of improvement in the team
Talking about the performance of the team, Sreejesh said, the performance of the Indian team in the Asian Games held in the past years was not as we all wanted. The team did not live up to expectations but it is expected that the team will perform better this time. India won gold in the men’s hockey event in 2014. In 2018 we had to be satisfied with a bronze medal. India has so far won three gold medals in the Asian Games. The first gold medal came in 1966, followed by 1998 and then 2014. Apart from this, India has won silver medals nine times (1958, 1962, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1990, 1994, 2002) and three times (1986, 2010 , 2018) has won the bronze medal.
Indian team will come out mentally strong also
Sreejesh said, at the international level we play most of the matches with European teams and suddenly we get to play with Asian teams. Which becomes a little difficult for us. We are considered to be a strong contender for the title in the Asian Games. The rest of the teams give their 200 per cent effort against us. This is the reason why we are not able to give the expected results. It is not a matter that we play badly, but the matter is such that other teams play well against us. Along with this, he said that we will not take any kind of laxity in the Asian Games to be held in 2026. The team is also meeting a psychologist. This time the team will enter the field mentally strong.
Players will have to play their natural game
When Sreejesh was asked what advice he gives to the young players of the team, he said, ‘I tell everyone to play their natural game. In big tournaments, we try to do something new. But I say show your natural game. Apart from this, I tell the players to be ready to face both praise and criticism. Cricketers also have to face bad times. Instead of thinking too much about it, it is the first duty of every player to focus on performance.
I try to give my best: Sreejesh
P R Sreejesh is a resident of Kerala. When the journalist asked him about his personal goals, he said that I have played many matches and have faced crushing defeats in many matches. So it has also achieved spectacular victories in many sports. I don’t pay attention to individual performance. My focus remains that the team does not lose because of me. This creates positive pressure, which helps in performing at the best.
Sreejesh wants to become a role model
Standing at the end of his career, Sreejesh wants to be a role model for the future generation of goalkeepers. He said, ‘I want to take goalkeeping to the next level and create a legacy of my own. I had heard Shankar Laxman’s name a lot and now I want new players to be inspired by me in the same way as I was inspired by Shankar Laxman.
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