Welcome to the world of P. R. Sreejesh, where passion, dedication, and determination converge to create moments of sporting brilliance. As one of India’s most revered hockey goalkeepers, P. R. Sreejesh has not only etched his name in the annals of Indian sports history but has also inspired generations with his exceptional skills and unwavering spirit. From his breathtaking saves to his leadership on and off the field, Sreejesh has become synonymous with excellence in the realm of hockey.
This page serves as a tribute to the wisdom and insights of P. R. Sreejesh, offering a collection of his most memorable quotes. Through his words, we delve into the mindset of a true champion, gaining invaluable lessons on perseverance, teamwork, and the pursuit of excellence. Whether you’re an aspiring athlete seeking motivation or simply a fan of the game, Sreejesh’s quotes are bound to resonate and inspire. So, dive in, explore, and let the wisdom of P. R. Sreejesh ignite your passion for greatness. Now, without further ado, let’s immerse ourselves in the profound words of this sporting icon.
When you’re in the hockey team, you’re treated like a VIP. There are people around you looking after you, making sure you get 7-8 hours of undisturbed sleep every day. P. R. Sreejesh
The best part of any game is that we forget all that happens outside the field when we play, it is a game and we give our best. P. R. Sreejesh
It’s difficult to love a goalkeeper. He is invisible, and is only in the limelight when he makes a blunder. P. R. Sreejesh
I have been able to give this confidence to the forwards, that ‘Don’t worry, Sreejesh is there at the back.’ That is important to me. P. R. Sreejesh
One of my friends called me up and said kids in our village are playing hockey with PVC pipes. This is the change I wanted to see. Hopefully, we will be able to inspire the next generation. P. R. Sreejesh
The motivation will always be there to change the colour of the medal in Paris. P. R. Sreejesh
The motto to work hard and get back that India jersey never died in me. P. R. Sreejesh
When I came to the national camp, I wore my pads to get the feel. I started to kick the ball, then stood in the pole and it felt positive. Since then, I am just focusing on making myself better than before. P. R. Sreejesh
Being a father brings with it a lot of responsibilities, just like being a goalkeeper does. P. R. Sreejesh
I want to bring back that glory in our country because we are the Olympic champions. So I want to see that glory days back in India, hence I’m giving my hundred per cent to contribute my best. P. R. Sreejesh
I am a goalkeeper. My first duty is to save the goal. The second is to communicate with my defenders and organize them. P. R. Sreejesh
People in my state, Kerala, have started playing hockey, which is very pleasing to see. P. R. Sreejesh
I was so hooked to ‘The Da Vinci Code’ that I jumped out of bed at 2 A. M., and could only go back to sleep after I’d finished the final few chapters. P. R. Sreejesh
Your name never stands for anything, only performances do. P. R. Sreejesh
When I started my career I used to concede a lot of goals but still every one had faith in me, they kept motivating me. P. R. Sreejesh
Psychology is not a place where you get results overnight. P. R. Sreejesh
Experience. I have that in abundance and that is what I can share. P. R. Sreejesh
Your goal is to win a medal at the Olympics. The players who go into their second Olympics like me, know the agony of missing out on a medal. P. R. Sreejesh
We cannot say that Asian Champions Trophy is that easy a contest. P. R. Sreejesh
I think it’s important for me to share my experiences with the younger players and give them feedback on their performances. P. R. Sreejesh
My role is just about sharing my experiences with the younger guys in the team. It is just like how parents guide their kids or a teacher guides his students. P. R. Sreejesh
Every tournament is important to me and I need to give my best. P. R. Sreejesh
I never really expected the captaincy, honestly. It’s a great honour to lead India at the Olympics. P. R. Sreejesh
There’s a difference between a young goalkeeper and an experienced goalkeeper. In a pressure situation, an experienced goalkeeper can handle the situation in a calm manner. P. R. Sreejesh
When you are with your team, you get the right motivation to work hard every day and get back to the field quickly. P. R. Sreejesh
We have an edge over the Asian countries because we are playing European and Indian style of hockey, but we need to perform consistently. P. R. Sreejesh
The captain is not in total command of the match. The man who is possessing the ball at a given time is the captain. P. R. Sreejesh
Sometimes I miss my family badly. In those weak moments, books come to my rescue because they help me think differently. P. R. Sreejesh
Now if I go back home with an Olympic medal, the reaction of my family will give me immense satisfaction. P. R. Sreejesh
I’ve set myself a target of four books a month. P. R. Sreejesh
Normally, a goalkeeper has to be a perfect man. All my mistakes are visible so I have to keep my concentration all the time. P. R. Sreejesh
We are Asian champions, but we cannot take chances. P. R. Sreejesh
I am up for challenges. P. R. Sreejesh
Olympics is a place where you can be easily distracted to a lot of things and it will seem like a magic world. P. R. Sreejesh
My aim has always been to improve with every performance and be an added strength to the side. P. R. Sreejesh
Well, I come from a poor family. My father is a farmer. When I started playing, I wasn’t privileged enough to afford hockey pads and a kit, that was out of my reach. P. R. Sreejesh
When I was young, I didn’t know who India’s goalkeeper was then. P. R. Sreejesh
India-Pakistan match brings a lot of excitement to the table. P. R. Sreejesh
When you play big matches there is a lot of pressure. P. R. Sreejesh
I started watching my own videos, rectifying mistakes and talking to our coaches. But there is a limit to self-learning but the past 8-9 years have helped me become self-reliant. P. R. Sreejesh
You can’t expect a coach to come in and just change everything overnight. P. R. Sreejesh
The best part of a goalkeeper is that when you are the second choice you get to gain a lot of experience by sitting outside and watching. P. R. Sreejesh
To build my core strength, I do push-ups, sit-ups, crunches, on-the-spot running with bands, and individual runs. P. R. Sreejesh
In the morning, I try to read self-help books and books on meditation. P. R. Sreejesh
I will always want to play one more match, one more Olympics. P. R. Sreejesh
All the participating countires in Tokyo 2020 were good, but this time we worked really hard and had the confidence that we can achieve it in Tokyo. P. R. Sreejesh
Today I am a hero because of the saves. But If I had failed in saving the goal-bound shots in the Asiad finals, I would have been called a traitor. P. R. Sreejesh
It’s important that I stay positive in my messages during matches because the rest of the team is following the tone and tension in my voice. Nothing in my voice should let them down. P. R. Sreejesh
We are maintaining a 25-member squad for Rio Games so that has kept a healthy competition within the team. If there are any injuries, we have immediate replacements. P. R. Sreejesh
When I prepare for any tournament, I just feel that I want to give my best in the tournament as I may not get the next opportunity and I don’t want to regret it after this tournament. P. R. Sreejesh
There is a lot of scope for improvement but as we enter the home stretch for the Olympic preparations, we know the biggest challenge for us is to remain consistent with our performances. P. R. Sreejesh
We are better placed than Pakistan as we have been playing against top teams around the world. Pakistan on the other hand failed to qualify for the Olympics for the first time in their history. P. R. Sreejesh
The vamp, or the front of our shoes has to be a bit hard for the extra support because often during a save, our toe can end up jutting outside our leg guard. P. R. Sreejesh
When a player gets injured, all negative thoughts come in. Then you bump into people who have had that problem and they start telling you about how difficult it is and that doesn’t help. P. R. Sreejesh
I have always said being part of the team and winning a medal for my country was my first preference. P. R. Sreejesh
Being in the thick of things is a good thing. P. R. Sreejesh
In the Olympics we are facing the toughest opponents in the world so that shows that you do have the chance to beat any team at any given day. P. R. Sreejesh
Even when following a strict training regimen, you’re allowed a couple of cheat meals. P. R. Sreejesh
International matches are competitive and challenging, even for a normal player. P. R. Sreejesh
No matter who the captain is, on the hockey pitch it’s the goalkeeper who is leading the side because we have the best view of the field. P. R. Sreejesh
I have a three-month-old daughter and I want to spend as much time with her as I can. P. R. Sreejesh
I like working out in the morning. P. R. Sreejesh
The quality of players at the domestic level is very low when they come to the Indian camp. From that level to reach the international level, they will have to do lot of hard work at the Indian camp. P. R. Sreejesh
It was the toughest phase of my life. I suffered almost a career-ending injury. Getting through the first phase of my injury was tough. P. R. Sreejesh
Hockey is not an individual game. It is rather a team game. P. R. Sreejesh
Of course I catch up on the odd Malayalam and Tamil movie on streaming platforms once a while. P. R. Sreejesh
Hockey has changed drastically over the years. Indian greats then played on grass. Now we play on astro-turf. P. R. Sreejesh
The multi-captaincy system helps me to concentrate and focus on my responsibility. In my case, I can concentrate on my goalkeeping, and others on their responsibilities allotted to them like scoring goals, defending and things like that. P. R. Sreejesh
I had to teach myself to walk and run again during rehabilitation. P. R. Sreejesh
So being a senior player, being a goalkeeper, being a team member, I think saving the ball is my first main priority. P. R. Sreejesh
In inter-state tournaments, they used to make fun of my gear. It didn’t bother me. I had my body and my biggest weapon was my mind. P. R. Sreejesh
You can’t win tournaments just with youngsters. In important matches we need experience. P. R. Sreejesh
It’s going to be a long, tough journey to the Olympics. P. R. Sreejesh
I had ACL, MCL, and meniscus injuries on my right knee. P. R. Sreejesh
I enjoy endurance training with 5 to 10-kilometre runs. Weight training comes a close second. P. R. Sreejesh
Before the injury hockey was everything in my life. Now I know even if I am out of hockey, there are other important things in life. I am confident, calmer and wiser now. P. R. Sreejesh
I believe Indian hockey itself is going through a major phase of transformation. We set our sight on winning the gold medal at the Asian Games. We have achieved that. P. R. Sreejesh
Nothing is certain in a sportsperson’s life. There can be an injury, performance can go down, others can do better than me. P. R. Sreejesh
No player will say no to an Olympics. P. R. Sreejesh
Audiences give us extra energy, they play the role of 12th man in the team. P. R. Sreejesh
I never dreamt of captaining the team and leading the side in the Olympics. It’s a great honor. P. R. Sreejesh
Defender Birendra Lakra, unfortunately, had to miss Rio Olympics due to injury, but we had ready replacements – Harmanpreet Singh and Surender Kumar. They did better because they got the exposure of playing ahead of Olympics. That’s the magic of rotational system. P. R. Sreejesh
Goalkeepers are like wine, the longer you keep it, the better it tastes. P. R. Sreejesh
The first few years were quite hard for me. It took time for me to understand what exactly is international hockey. P. R. Sreejesh
When you are in the field you just need to give your best, it doesn’t matter whether you are the lone goalkeeper or not. P. R. Sreejesh
If I’ve been disciplined through the week, on Sunday I treat myself to mutton biryani. I can have up to one kg of it for a meal. P. R. Sreejesh
Even one player’s performance can affect the entire team. P. R. Sreejesh
Playing against Pakistan automatically motivates our team to perform well. P. R. Sreejesh
Our shoes weather a lot of blows and sometimes a wrong movement can cause them to come apart in half. P. R. Sreejesh
A match against Pakistan is never an easy prospect – especially for goalkeepers in a penalty shootout. We can either become heroes or zeroes. P. R. Sreejesh
I know what was happening to me during the 2012 London Olympics. I was in a fantasy world. You look this side, Usain Bolt is walking, Serena Williams is sitting next to you and having food. So that is really a fantasy world for a youngster. P. R. Sreejesh
I was under Adrian D’Souza, then under Bharat Chettri. The things that I learnt under them are helping me in my career now. P. R. Sreejesh
We have a very good history in hockey and when I look back into my own career, I know I do have a lot of FIH medals, I have medals almost in every tournament but not one in World Cup or Olympics. P. R. Sreejesh
You cannot play at your best and beat a top team one day and drop your level the next day. P. R. Sreejesh
Since 2012, we have had only consultant coaches. They fine-tuned my basics. P. R. Sreejesh
When you are stepping on the field as a hockey player you are part of a dream and being a team member you have your responsibilities, you have your duties. P. R. Sreejesh
Books changed my perception about the sacrifices we make as athletes. P. R. Sreejesh
I always believe in trying something extra-ordinary and fighting against myself, gives me the biggest confidence boost. P. R. Sreejesh
Pakistan are definitely our main rivals. We do respect the players but on the field, we push ourselves even harder to get that win. I am sure they do the same against us. Victory against them has a special meaning. P. R. Sreejesh
When I got injured, when I did the surgery, I made a promise to myself: I will wear the India jersey again. P. R. Sreejesh
