- Saturday, November 23, 2024
The legendary goalkeeper had three special sticks – one had his wife’s name etched, and the other two had the names of his two children. He used the ‘wife stick’ to defend penalties
By: Shajil Kumar
WHEN P R Sreejesh left for Paris Olympics to complete his “last dance” in India colours, three special sticks were part of his arsenal.
One had his wife’s name etched, and the other two were inscribed with the names of his two children.
It was the wife stick that he used in the memorable quarterfinal match against England, which India won 4-2 in a penalty shootout, thanks to the rock solid defence by the goalkeeper from Kerala, who bid adieu to the game this week.
“He had three sticks for the Paris games…One for penalty shootout and two for regular games. For regular matches, he used the sticks with our kids’ names Anushree and Sreeansh written on them,” Aneeshya told PTI Bhasha as she celebrated the perfect retirement that her husband got with the team winning a second successive bronze on Thursday.
“For the shootout, he used the stick with my name written on it and it also has my favourite colour,” she said.
Aneeshya has been an emotional mess ever since the game ended. She hasn’t can’t been able to make sense of her feelings right now.
Die-hard fan
The wife in her is happy that her husband will have more time at home but the “die-hard fan” in her is sad that Sreejesh’s galvanising presence in front of the goalpost would no longer be a constant in Indian hockey.
The Indian men’s hockey team clinched a second successive bronze medal at the Olympic Games for the first time in 52 years, rallying to beat Spain 2-1 in third place playoff.
It was a perfect farewell to Sreejesh, who was also a part of the squad that won the bronze in the Tokyo Games.
“I am not only his wife, but also a die-hard fan. Being a fan I will definitely miss him on the field and being his wife, I will get more of his time. So I am happy and sad at the same time. Both the emotions are there,” Aneeshya, who is a former long-jumper and an Ayurveda doctor, said.
Sreejesh’s favourite meal
She is waiting for him to come home so that she can serve him some traditional Kerala meals that he is very fond of.
“I will cook traditional Kerala food for him, vegetarian and non-vegetarian both. He loves it so much and I know he must be craving it,” she said.
“We haven’t planned celebrations yet but there will be a lot of people to welcome him. His brother came here from Canada with his family. The whole family has gathered here. It’s a big moment for us,” she added.
“There were around 50 people here. Everyone congratulated us and it is a moment of immense pride that we won two consecutive medals in the Olympics. He has retired after winning a medal for India, it is a reward for his passion and dedication for the game,” she said.
“I was about to cry but controlled myself,” added the proud wife.
When asked about the future plans for Sreejesh, she said that he will take a call soon.
“His focus was only on the Paris Olympics only till now but now the Games are over. He will tell about future plans in due course of time,” she said.
Sreejesh has been a role model for the young brigade of Indian hockey. Asked if there was anything that she has learnt from the wall of Indian Hockey, Aneeshya said, “I have learnt positivity from Sreejesh.”
“He always tells me that ups and downs will be there in life…He says that don’t think about the past and always look forward. Whatever happened has happened and the best way is to look ahead,” she said. (PTI)
