Times of India: Seniors Sreejesh, Sunil look to lead hockey team by example in CWG

Manuja Veerappa

BENGALURU: The Indian hockey team at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games wears a fresh look. Most of them are at their maiden Games. There is an air of joy, excitement, anticipation and pressure among the 18 players.

Goalkeeper and former captain PR Sreejesh and striker SV Sunil have the experience to mentor and advise the young guns in the team. The two, who are thick friends off the field, entered the Indian camp in 2006 when the fight for a place in the team was intense with Sreejesh vying with Adrian D’Souza and Bharat Chetri while Sunil had the likes of Deepak Thakur, Prabhjot Singh, Shivendra Singh in the frontline to compete with.

Having gone through the grind, the seasoned players take pressure as a challenge and motivation comes from within. With India lining up a young team sprinkled with rookies, Sreejesh, who has just returned from a prolonged injury lay-off, believes the role of the duo goes beyond duty on the field.

“It is a prestigious tournament and given our recent performances expectations are high. As seniors we have been preparing the youngsters on what to expect at tournaments like the CWG, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. That’s because the event looks very rosy from the outside. But when you are on the field, it feels like you are in a pressure cooker. If you want to perform well, your undivided attention has to be on the game. The channels for pressure are plenty, you simply cannot allow it to get to you,” explained Sreejesh, who captained India at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

“That said, Sunil and I always tell them, ‘you are not there merely to participate, you are there to achieve something,” added the seasoned goalkeeper.

Sunil, the quieter of the two, believes in action and leading by example. “We have been playing together for 10 years and it is important for us to lead by example on the field with our conduct and executions. Both of us have won medals at the CWG and we know how it feels and what it means to step on to the podium. I remember the day our chief coach (Sjoerd Marijne) took over, he said target gold at CWG. Given our maturity the seniors took it as a challenge but we ensured the juniors realised setting goals didn’t mean inviting pressure on ourselves.”

Both players have seen a lot of changes in and around their respective positions. While Sreejesh said it doesn’t affect the goalkeeper who his standby is, Sunil pointed out that adjustments need to be made, but it is important to be patient with the younger players.

“Mistakes are bound to happen, but it is important not to scold them. Instead we have to motivate them. I always tell them that on the field there are no seniors or juniors. So, if they think I’m hanging on to the ball longer than required, they have to communicate. Also I often advise them not to think too much about the opposition. Rankings are mere numbers. The best team on the day wins,” the striker said.

With most of their batchmates like VR Raghunath and Sardar Singh being ignored, both players realise it is a perform-or-perish situation. But they are not losing sleep over it. The focus is on results rather than the future. “This is the first big tournament of an important year for us and we have to return with a medal. We have a silver from 2014 and this Games provides us a platform to showcase how much we have improved as a team,” said Sunil.
Sreejesh added: “I divide my career into before and after injury. Most people tend to compare the present Sreejesh with the one from the past. But I want to improve each day. I’m not looking at the number of matches I’ll play. Instead, I focus on how I play whichever matches I’m picked in.”