PR Sreejesh atop the bar. That was one of the most memorable images of the Indian campaign in Tokyo three years back. He did it as his teammates celebrated the bronze medal playoff win against Germany, which fetched a hockey medal after 41 years. It’s still talked about.
There could be an encore in Paris too. On Saturday, the 36-year-old goalkeeper, appearing in his last Olympic Games, played one of his best matches to keep his team in the hunt.
Playing the quarter-final match at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium — the stadium portrayed in John Huston’s epic film Escape To Victory — and with a man down for 43 minutes — key defender Amit Rohidas was shown a controversial red card for hitting a rival player with his stick — India managed to hold Great Britain 1-1 in regulation time. And then in the shootout, India had the better of their rivals 4-2.
A semi-final spot for the second Olympic Games on the trot. Sreejesh was just brilliant under the blazing sun of a Sunday morning. He effected two saves in the regulation time, and denied Phillip Roper’s attempt in the shootout. And then he danced, the stadium too.
“This is my last Olympics. I had two options. Either I lose and go home or I play two more matches.” Sreejesh took the second option.
As Sreejesh was speaking to the media, one of his teammates who was passing by quipped: “Your last Olympics, not for us.” Such is the camaraderie in this team.
About Sreejesh, Manpreet Singh says: “When Sreejesh does not use the cusswords from the goal, I get nervous. As if something is wrong. When those cusswords come thick and fast, I know we are doing well.”
Sreejesh smiled. “Those words keep them on their toes. Those gaalis are gaana for them. It’s a motivation,” he said.
Probably this bonhomie and team spirit are driving the Indian hockey team now. They stand by each other when the chips are down. Manpreet, who dictates the game from the midfield, dropped back to partner captain Harmanspreet Singh after Rohidas got the marching orders and the rest gave their all to defend.
“A man down so early in the match, we needed a Plan B. We’ve been talking about defence for the last 14 months and we dug deep and Sree (goalkeeper Sreejesh) was immense. When you talk about defence, it’s also about showing your love for your teammate by covering him... helping him. And Sree did that for us and we did that for him,” coach Craig Fulton said in praise of team-bonding.
“Everyone gathered around to discuss tactics. Everyone was hands-on. It was fantastic. Playing with 10 men in the quarter-finals and winning. I do not know how many times this will happen. Today was our day. We made a statement, a real statement.”
True, a statement it was. Great Britain did not allow India to play ariel balls with man-to-man marking and the team struggled throughout, but still managed to escape without hurt.
“It’s very difficult to play with a man down... The focus was on defending and we did that with flying colours,” a calm captain Harmanpreet, who gave India the lead in the regulation time and converted during the shootout, said.
In the shootout, Sreejesh anticipated his rival’s shot very well, diving to his right to keep the ball out.
“Shootout... shootout is a normal thing for a goalkeeper. We train a lot.” Sreejesh was talking so fast that he had to catch his breath. “There are two ways...,” Sreejesh said, giving a glimpse of what goes through his mind, before adding, “Just kill the time and then try to make a save. The moment you kill the time, pressure goes on to the opposition and they try something wrong. Also, we need support from the team. Today we converted all four.”
On Sunday, Harmanpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay and Rajkumar Pal took India to the ‘four’.
Next is the semi-final versus Germany on Tuesday. India will need more from the stars for a slot in the final.
