Bengaluru: PR Sreejesh, who led India to the quarter-finals at the 2016 Rio Olympics, were looking to make what could be the number of appearances of the last Olympics.
In an exclusive interview with Toi, the 35-year-old Padma Shri Awardee, talked about his personal aspirations, team ambitions and the Olympics in the time of Pandemi.
Quotes: As the most experienced player, what thoughts do you share with the team? Experience.
I have an abundance and that’s what I can share.
The majority of my teammates are the first Olympics.
When a athlete entered the field, he felt a comfort zone because the Olympic dream came true.
This is what I want to convey to them, playing the Olympics is important, but it’s not your goal.
Your goal is to win a medal at the Olympics.
The players who went to the second Olympics like me, knew the suffering of lost medals.
I’ve told them, let’s push the boundaries, this time we are good enough to win a medal.
Being a goalkeeper, I have already told yourself: no goal! “I didn’t leave to beat the world; I just set out to do my absolute best.” # Proud # Olympicgamestokyo2020 https://t.co/8rvaet7S2P- Sreejesh PR (@ 16SREEJESH) 1626738120000IT is a different Olympic, how will you embrace it? This Olympics is not a normal Olympics.
In the past, it was a sports festival.
We exchanged pins and flags with athletes from other countries, taking selfies and photographs with other sports heroes and legends and we socialize too.
But this time, it’s all about the team and you.
It was a worrying factor and everything about our 18 players, coaches and support staff.
Obviously, fear of being infected by Covid-19 and endangers the heavy hanging team, but the last 16 months have prepared us well for it.
We may be the only team that has spent in isolation for long spells and it might work for our benefit.
In a pandemic, you don’t have a lot of special training in the goalkeeper, does it help you become independent? Since 2012, we only have a coach of consultant.
They all perfected my basics.
But the biggest weakness is no ordinary follow-up.
I started watching my own video, fixing mistakes and talking to our coach.
But there are limits to learning themselves.
When I want to talk to a fellow goalkeeper, I turned to Adrian (d’Souza).
The Adrian goalkeeper’s style is different from the mine, but he is a moral booster.
Another goalkeeper I interacted was Dutchman Jaap Stockmann, who always considered his experience.
That said, the last 8-9 years have helped me become independent.
From Tokyo, with the love of the Indian ???rate team from the Olympic Village.
We go with ? # Haitayyar # indiakame …
https://t.co/eo3GHCU1JB- Indian hockey (@TheHoDeyIndia) 1626771529000IN 16 months ago, how much does your reading habits help you handle it away from home and in virtual isolation? Sometimes I miss my family badly.
In the weak moments, books came to save me because they helped me think differently.
In the morning, I tried to read self-help books and meditation books.
We are good enough to win a medal at the Tokyo Olympics: Sreejesh
