New Delhi, Aug 16 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the wall of Indian hockey PR Sreejesh and stated, “The team will miss him” as the veteran goalkeeper drew curtains on his outstanding career following the bronze medal-winning campaign at the Paris Olympics.
The Prime Minister met the Indian Paris Olympic contingent at his residence on the Independence Day. He also clicked pictures with the athletes during the event. Sreejesh along with captain Harmanpreet Singh, also gifted India jerseys and hockey to PM Modi during their meeting.
During the interaction with players, the Prime Minister asked about Sreejesh’s retirement decision, “Sreejesh, had you already decided to retire?
Sreejesh replied, “I had been contemplating retirement for the past few years. My teammates would often ask in a fun way, ‘When are you leaving?’ I first attended the national camp in 2002 and played my first international match at the junior level in 2004. Since then, I’ve been representing my country for 20 years.”
“I felt that retiring on a grand stage like the Olympics, where the whole world comes together, would be the perfect way to conclude my career,” he added.
The Prime Minister responded, “The team will miss you, and they have given you a wonderful farewell.”
“Sreejesh further said, “After we lost the semifinal, the team was little demotivated. But when we headed on to the pitch for the last match, my teammates kept encouraging each other, saying, ‘We have to win this for Sreejesh Bhai.’ I thanked them from that Olympic podium and announced my retirement after our victory.”
The Paris Olympics saw the Indian team play scintillating hockey at times; performances that saw them defeat Australia by 3-2, for the first time after 52 years in the Olympics.
They pulled out another rabbit from the hat in the Quarter Finals, an unreal performance by every single member of the team against Great Britain, where they defended with a man down for over 40 minutes to force penalty shootouts and win by 4-2, courtesy of heroics from Sreejesh.
Reflecting on the team’s performance against Britain in the quarterfinal, captain Harmanpreet, who was India’s top scorer with 10 goals, said, “It was tough after the first quarter as we lost one player, but our coaching staff provided incredible support. In the Olympics, anything can happen, so we visualised every challenging situation and stuck to our game plan no matter what. The team was full of energy and determined to win the match at any cost. Also, beating Australia after 52 years was an achievement and a big record in itself.”
With a bronze medal win in Paris, the Indian men’s team claimed back-to-back medals in hockey for the first time since the 1972 Olympics in Munich and attained their 13th overall Olympic medal.
–IANS
psd/rs/bc
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
