DC | Arun George | 9 sec ago
Kochi: At 3.30 pm on Wednesday when India hockey goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh checked out at the domestic terminal of Nedumbassery airport, there was no sign of any celebrity arrival, despite a crystal trophy, with the inscription `best goalkeeper' Asia Cup, safely fitted in the front cabinet of the luggage trolley .
The momentary grimace on a triumphant homecoming going unrecognised soon vanished as the mustachioed Indian vice-captain smiled on seeing his beloved Aneeshya, whom he got married to this May, and father Raveendran.
As Sreejesh posed for pictures with his family, one of the co-passengers, waiting for his cab, stepped in to check the trophy out and then asked, “What did you do to get this one?“ Sreejesh, however, saw the funny side. “This? I got it for playing Kabaddi in Punjab".
He even shook hands with the curious ignorant. “I have found a way to live with all this. It does not bother me as I do my job for the country and that keeps me happy,“ said the custodian whose heroics saw an inexperienced India reach the final of Asia Cup and virtually secure a berth in the 2014 World Cup hockey.
With the national team going through a transition period under Dutch coach Roelant Oltmans, who has already vowed to guide the nation to 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Sreejesh feels the coming year will be crucial for Indian hockey.
“It is a packed schedule for the coming year. We have the World Cup, Champions Trophy and Hockey World League among major events and the whole planning is to see us emerge as serious contenders for the Olympics.
“We’ve been given a break for about one and a half months. Serious preparations will begin afterwards. The priority is to play more often and improve our ranking (India is ranked 11th in men’s hockey),” said Sreejesh.
Meanwhile, Sreejesh informed that he has decided to spend a week at his home in Pallikkara near Kochi before leaving for Chennai to play in a national event for his employers, Indian Overseas Bank.
No comments:
Post a Comment