“Forever a custodian of dreams…”: Sreejesh ahead of international hockey swansong against Spain

Paris [France], August 8 (ANI): Ahead of his final match in the national colours, the Indian men’s hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh penned down a heartwarming note on social media, saying that he is “forever a custodian of dreams” of his country.

In Sreejesh’s swansong from international hockey, Team India led by Harmanpreet Singh would settle for nothing less than bronze during the Paris Olympics match against Spain on Thursday. India will be playing the match for third position after a heartbreaking 2-3 loss to Germany in a thrilling semifinal.

Taking to Instagram, Sreejesh wrote, “As I stand between the posts for the final time, my heart swells with gratitude and pride. This journey, from a young boy with a dream to the man defending India’s honour, has been nothing short of extraordinary. Today, I play my last match for India. Every save, every dive, every roar of the crowd will forever echo in my soul. Thank you, India, for believing in me, for standing by me. This is not the end, but the beginning of cherished memories. Forever a custodian of dreams. Jai Hind.”

Sreejesh announced ahead of the Paris Olympics that the competition would be his last international outing for India.

A veteran of 328 International caps, three Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games and World Cups, Sreejesh will be playing his fourth Olympic Games. Having made his debut at the 2010 World Cup, Sreejesh has been part of various memorable wins for India, which include a gold medal in the 2014 Asian Games, a bronze medal in Jakarta-Palembang, the joint-winning team of the Asian Champions Trophy in 2018, the gold medal-winning team of 2019 FIH Men’s Series Finals in Bhubaneswar and the silver medal winning team at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The 36-year-old goalie was one of the main architects of India’s historic Bronze medal win at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. He was instrumental in India’s third-place finish at the FIH Hockey Pro League 2021/22.

Sreejesh was awarded the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in 2021 and is only the second sportsperson from India to win the award of World Games Athlete of the Year 2021. He has also won back-to-back FIH Goalkeeper of the Year awards in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Last year, he stood tall in India’s gold medal-winning campaign at the Asian Games, which sealed the team’s berth for Paris 2024.