{"id":285829,"date":"2025-04-19T22:40:08","date_gmt":"2025-04-19T22:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/19\/pr-sreejesh-gets-heros-farewell-indian-hockeys-django-who-stood-firm-and-accepted-every-challenge\/"},"modified":"2025-04-19T22:40:08","modified_gmt":"2025-04-19T22:40:08","slug":"pr-sreejesh-gets-heros-farewell-indian-hockeys-django-who-stood-firm-and-accepted-every-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/19\/pr-sreejesh-gets-heros-farewell-indian-hockeys-django-who-stood-firm-and-accepted-every-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"PR Sreejesh gets hero\u2019s farewell \u2013 Indian hockey\u2019s \u2018Django\u2019 who stood firm and accepted every challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"PR<\/div>


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Brighter than the shining sun,
Standing firm in the hot sun,
He accepted every challenge,
Never lost, never wavered.<\/em><\/p>\n

Harendra Singh<\/strong> got emotional as he started to read out a poem in Hindi he had written for PR Sreejesh. When the acclaimed coach was told a couple of days back that he had to speak for a few minutes at Sreejesh\u2019s felicitation ceremony, coach Harry decided to get poetic. The current Indian women\u2019s team head coach was in charge of the junior team when he spotted a tall guy from Kerala and wondered what he did. When he was told that the kid was a goalkeeper, Harendra had no hesitation in bringing him to the national camp. \u201cDjango banega ye,\u201d Harendra recalled saying back then, and the moniker stuck.<\/p>\n

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In the sometimes wild and turbulent world of Indian hockey, Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh has often been the calming constant. The cowboy who knew how to get the better of a striker in a standoff. The hero who emerged from the hockey backwaters of Kerala and became a national icon. The goalkeeper who often stood between defeats and draws, and between draws and victories.<\/p>\n

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On Wednesday in the Capital, the keeper of India\u2019s hockey fortunes got a fitting farewell. With his teammates and coaches singing his praises, with former stalwarts in attendance, with the family by his side. After his final match at Paris 2024 where India won bronze, Hockey India confirmed that the iconic No. 16 jersey will be retired as well from the Indian senior team. It belongs to Sreejesh for eternity now.<\/p>\n

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\ud835\ude44\ud835\ude58\ud835\ude64\ud835\ude63\ud835\ude5e\ud835\ude58 \ud835\ude45\ud835\ude5a\ud835\ude67\ud835\ude68\ud835\ude5a\ud835\ude6e \ud835\ude63\ud835\ude64 16 \ud835\ude6c\ud835\ude5e\ud835\ude61\ud835\ude61 \ud835\ude63\ud835\ude64\ud835\ude6c \ud835\ude5b\ud835\ude64\ud835\ude67\ud835\ude5a\ud835\ude6b\ud835\ude5a\ud835\ude67 \ud835\ude57\ud835\ude5a \ud835\ude56 \ud835\ude65\ud835\ude56\ud835\ude67\ud835\ude69 \ud835\ude64\ud835\ude5b \ud835\ude44\ud835\ude63\ud835\ude59\ud835\ude5e\ud835\ude56\ud835\ude63 \ud835\ude43\ud835\ude64\ud835\ude58\ud835\ude60\ud835\ude5a\ud835\ude6e \ud835\ude5b\ud835\ude64\ud835\ude61\ud835\ude60\ud835\ude61\ud835\ude64\ud835\ude67\ud835\ude5a. https:\/\/t.co\/tSmEVgyDMv<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) August 14, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\u201cWhat my age is, your career is longer.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

There was a chuckle in the room as Manu Bhaker<\/strong>, the double Olympic bronze medallist at Paris, started her question with a one-liner that summed up the age difference between India\u2019s flagbearers at the Olympic closing ceremony. She wanted to know from Sreejesh how to deal with disappointments over a long career. Sreejesh\u2019s response: \u201cStay in the moment, enjoy the highs, cry after the lows, but move on quickly\u2026 and know that this too shall pass.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sreejesh is no stranger to setbacks. His hockey journey began at the age of 12. While he made his debut with the junior team in 2004, followed by his senior team debut in 2006, it wasn\u2019t until around 2011 that he really found his footing at the top level. Harendra recalled that any other athlete in Sreejesh\u2019s place might have given up around 2009 and gone home.<\/p>\n

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Hockey India\u2019s Secretary General @Bholana97117226<\/a> shares his story with Sreejesh and commends the entire team\u2019s effort at the recently concluded Paris Olympics during the felicitation ceremony of P. R Sreejesh.#IndiaKaGame<\/a> #HockeyIndia<\/a> #SreejeshFelicitation<\/a> #ThankYouSreejesh<\/a>
.\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/ZUlxTpYToj<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) August 14, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In his early days at the national camp, Sreejesh felt he didn\u2019t belong. He didn\u2019t know the language that was predominantly spoken around him, didn\u2019t like the food and he recalled once for this daily that he was so homesick that he wanted to run away. But being a goalkeeper meant he didn\u2019t have to interact much with the rest of the players on the field. Or so he told himself to get by.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHe\u2019s like a brother to me, since the time I joined the team as a youngster. He was always there for me. I feel good when he is behind me and yelling out. There have been so many matches when we needed a push, and Sreejesh gave us life.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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Vocal on the pitch, it is hard to miss Sreejesh bellowing out instructions to his teammates. And off the pitch, he is their big brother, a shoulder to lean on in tough situations. Manpreet Singh<\/strong> recalled how Sreejesh\u2019s presence between the posts kept the team on its toes because the booming voice from the back let them know when they were losing focus. \u201cEven his gaalis are meaningful,\u201d Manpreet told this daily.<\/p>\n

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In spotlight the \u201cGod of Modern Indian Hockey\u201d\ud83d\udc10#IndiaKaGame<\/a> #HockeyIndia<\/a> #SreejeshFelicitation<\/a> #ThankYouSreejesh<\/a>
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.@CMO_Odisha<\/a> @IndiaSports<\/a> @Media_SAI<\/a> @sports_odisha<\/a> @Limca_Official<\/a> @CocaCola_Ind<\/a> @FIH_Hockey<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/c9nQsZy6lT<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) August 14, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Sreejesh who is retiring in 2024 after more than two decades in the sport is the complete antithesis of that worried young man who left his home in Kizhakkambalam village in Kerala\u2019s Ernakulam district. So much so that when a question was thrown to him in Malayalam by a journalist, he translated it and started answering in Hindi\u2026 before he was encouraged to respond in his native language.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAfter we lost the semifinals and the players got together, Sreejesh told us, \u2018Macha, the hockey we have played in this tournament, the love we have got from everyone, it is a big deal. And now we have one last chance to lift ourselves and win a medal.\u2019 That turned it around for us. I told him just before the bronze medal match, \u2018yeh aapki life ka last match hai\u2026\u2019 and he replied, \u2018aur kheloonga bhi waise hi.\u2019 (I will play like it\u2019s the last match of my life)\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Captain Harmanpreet Singh<\/strong>, who led the way for India in Paris with 10 goals, gave his shoulders one last heavy workout as he carried Sreejesh at the end of the bronze medal match. While Harmanpreet banged the goals in, Sreejesh \u2013 who insisted in praising the rest of India\u2019s defence too \u2013 was the great wall between the posts.<\/p>\n

In his last tournament, Sreejesh wasn\u2019t getting carried by his teammates during the matches. The 36-year-old was sensational between the posts. Against Australia and Great Britain, he often single-handedly kept his side in the match. Asked why he was retiring when still at his best, he recalled a piece of advice he once received: \u201cretire when people ask why, rather than why not.\u201d<\/p>\n

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P.R. Sreejesh \ud83c\udd7c\ud83c\udd71\ufe0f\ud83c\udd71\ufe0f\ud83c\udd82<\/p>\n

Miya
Biwi
Baccho
Samit#IndiaKaGame<\/a> #HockeyIndia<\/a> #SreejeshFelicitation<\/a> #ThankYouSreejesh<\/a>
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.@CMO_Odisha<\/a> @IndiaSports<\/a> @Media_SAI<\/a> @sports_odisha<\/a> @Limca_Official<\/a> @CocaCola_Ind<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/pjHGE3tTXx<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) August 14, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\u201cSree, could you describe the last 10 seconds of the match against Spain?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Finally, coach Craig Fulton<\/strong> got to ask Sreejesh a question. And it made Sreejesh blush. The usually nerveless goalkeeper had jumped the gun when he threw his helmet and gloves down to begin celebrating the bronze medal\u2026 but the clock hadn\u2019t run down. The ball was still in play and Sreejesh had to quickly put on his helmet, and just held the gloves and stick in his hand instead of wearing them. \u201cI really wanted to forget about that moment, coach, but I want to tell future goalkeepers, don\u2019t trust your players to hold the ball for 8 seconds!\u201d<\/p>\n