P R Sreejesh

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P. R. Sreejesh is an Indian professional hockey player positioned as a goalkeeper in the national team. He is the recipient of the prestigious Arjuna Award (2015) and the Padma Shri (2017).During his childhood, P. R. Sreejesh was fond of playing sports whether it be long jump, volleyball, or sprinting. When he was 12 his parents enrolled him at GV Raja Sports School in Thiruvananthapuram, a school where Sreejesh could get more exposure to sports. P. R. Sreejeshs childhood picture.Sreejeshs couch at GV Raja Sports School suggested him to take up hockey as his professional sport but Sreejesh was not impressed with his idea then. Talking about choosing hockey, P. R. Sreejesh, in an interview, said, Hockey was the last resort. Growing up, I was on the heavier side. I had tried shot put but I didnt have the power. I didnt have the athleticism to be good in basketball and volleyball, but being a hockey goalkeeper suited my physique. Surprisingly, I was rather good at it..After trying his hand in a number of sports, P. R. Sreejesh opted for hockey when the hockey coach at the sports school, Jayakumar, choose him to play in the school team as the goalkeeper for the hockey team. After that, Sreejesh played in several interschool and state-level tournaments. P. R. Sreejeshs first major tournament that he played was the Nehru Cup.P. R. Sreejesh made it to the Junior national team in 2004 and played his first match against Australia held in Perth. In 2006, Sreejesh became part of the senior national team playing his debut match at the 2006 South Asian Games in Colombo.During the initial phase of his career, Sreejesh did not perform extraordinarily good and was made to sit in the stands as a substitute player. He came into the limelight after he made a historic defence of a penalty stroke against Pakistan in the 2011 Asian Champions Trophy Final.P. R. Sreejesh played a vital role in making India win at the Asia Cup of 2013. His outstanding performance as a goalkeeper also earned him the title of Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament' 2013 Asia Cup, Malaysia. P. R. Sreejesh with his team at the 2013 Asia Cup.In 2014, Sreejeshs presence of mind and activeness in the field helped the Indian hockey team to earn a gold medal in the 2014 Asian Games. Sreejesh was honoured with the Goalkeeper of the Tournament 2014 Champions Trophy, India after the tournament.On 13th July 2016, P. R. Sreejesh was appointed as the captain of the Indian Hockey Team. India played several international tournaments including the 2016 Rio Olympics under his leadership. The Indian team made it to the quarterfinals of the tournament at the 2016 Rio Olympics, which was a great achievement for the Indian hockey team. Under his captaincy, Indian team won a silver medal in the 2016 Champions Trophy, but due to his under average performance as a goalkeeper in the team he was replaced by Manpreet Singh for the upcoming tournaments.In 2018, he again proved his efficiency on the field by directing India to a silver medal in Breda Champions Trophy and a bronze medal in the Jakarta Asian Games.