New Delhi: Hockey India on Monday congratulated stalwart Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh on his stellar career after he confirmed that Paris 2024 will be his last international outing. The 36-year-old’s decision to make Paris his final stand has only motivated the Indian National Team to begin their “Win it for Sreejesh” campaign, urging global hockey fans to rally behind the team in their attempt to stand on the podium once again.
A veteran of 328 International caps, three Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games and World Cups, Sreejesh will be playing his fourth Olympic Games.
Having made his debut at the 2010 World Cup, Sreejesh has been part of various memorable wins for India, which includes Gold in 2014 Asian Games, Bronze medal in Jakarta-Palembang, joint winning team of the Asian Champions Trophy in 2018, Gold medal winning team of 2019 FIH Men’s Series Finals in Bhubaneswar and Silver medal winning team at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The 36-year-old goalie was one of the main architects of India’s historic Bronze medal win at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. He was instrumental in India’s third-place finish at the FIH Hockey Pro League 2021/22.
Sreejesh was awarded the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in 2021 and is only the second sportsperson from India to win the award of World Games Athlete of the Year 2021. He has also won back-to-back FIH Goalkeeper of the Year awards in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
Last year, he stood tall in India’s Gold medal-winning campaign at the Asian Games that sealed the team’s berth for Paris 2024.