By NANDAKUMAR MARAR

MUMBAI: Adrian D’Souza noticed two changes in goalkeeper friend P R Sreejesh, use of stick under the post and as a person. The two custodians, senior and junior teammates at national hockey camps earlier, caught up in Bengaluru just before the squad left for Japan.The former, an Athens 2004 team member and standout performer for India, noticed the transformation in the latter and appreciated the rise in efficiency, sharper reactions and body language.

“Face to face meeting is the way both prefer. Phone calls are okay, prefer one-to-one chats on hockey and life. I have a couple of questions to ask,” noted Adrian, 37, who kept track of Tokyo in between work at Air India as Assistant General Manager (airport).

Busy with felicitations, starting in New Delhi by the Sports Authority of India for the men’s team, Sreejesh travelled to Kerala for time with family, in between then private, state government felicitation. He is back in the capital for a team appearance at India’s I- Day celebration. “Our plan is to catch up somewhere for quiet chats,” said Adrian, a newsmaker in 2004 when world hockey’s governing body, FIH, named him among nominees in Most Promising Player category.

Hockey India recommended India’s first-choice custodian for Khel Ratna award, (reportedly along with ex-India woman player Deepika).  “I hope he is chosen for the award. Team India re-created history at Tokyo, I am so proud, so happy for him. He is the number one goalkeeper in the game.”

Excerpts:

Sreejesh is supposed to have changed over the years, in hockey otherwise. From a shy new face in goal, to a mentor for newcomers to international hockey?
A: The change is in the way he used the hockey stick in one-on-one situations. Sreejesh’s earlier stance was straighter and banked on leg movements to block shots, the stick was not used as much as now. The change in him starts from the way the body is kept low, the stick is used so much almost as if it is his third leg in blocking a shot in one-on-one. The stick is held in a sweeping position, flat on the turf which did not happen earlier. As a person, he is confident now due to achievements in major tournaments, role in big wins for India.

Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh at Tokyo

The Tokyo Olympics is a happy memory from the men’s hockey viewpoint.Looking at the situation from a goalkeeper’s viewpoint, your thoughts….
A: Looking at the Tokyo campaign from the goalkeeper’s point of view, I feel that though hockey is a team game, goalkeepers have a role to play. In the decisive moments, the way a goalkeeper reacts is what matters, like in the penalty corner in the fourth quarter (bronze medal game against Great Britain). From my assessment, the turning point came when Sreejesh saved a penalty corner after we had let in the first goal. He was under pressure, managed to make that save and got the confidence to pull off the last save (00 minutes before the finish).

The Sreejesh show in crucial situations, amidst ups and downs for India, made him famous. Does it remind you of Athens 2004? FIH put you in the shortlist for Most Promising Player award?
A: It is not something I thought about. As players we don’t play for awards. These things happen. I was too young to understand it (significance of a FIH nomination) then. Now when I look back at Athens 2004, that was just the beginning of a curve towards progress. Sreejesh is in that space now, after we have all seen him perform all these years, till Tokyo 2020.

PR Sreejesh: As he was team mate of Adrian D’Souza in the late 2009s

Celebrating a win by climbing atop the goalpost was a spontaneous thing… Do goalies react differently?
A: To be a goalkeeper, I believe you have to be crazy. When you concede (a goal), you need to be ready for criticism and ready to accept faults. You have to be ready to make a save after maybe having leaked a goal. The concentration has to come back, no matter the ball missed before. We goalies have to find our own way to focus on the task at hand. This is exactly what Sreejesh did (against GB). Crazy can be looked at in two ways, as eccentric and as a match-winner… he is a blend of both.

Team India appeared to be a different side in different phases of the competition. Looking at the tournament as a whole, your assessment….
A: Looking at the tournament as a whole, we started with two wins before the downfall against Australia…. that one defeat helped us to get where we are now (third place). Thank you, Australia, for giving us that lesson. As much as I hate them, the Aussies forced us to make a recovery, enabling us to know the depth in our team. The coach (Graham Reid) believed in all his players, even beyond the playing 16. Credit to him for the way those on the pitch displayed qualities expected from those playing in the Olympic Games. Hats off to the players, to captain Manpreet Singh.

For a moment, you wished you were there in Tokyo?
A: Any hockey player would wish to be at the Olympics (to be playing with this squad), no matter where you are.