Seven years ago, people in his native village near Kizhakkambalam had not even heard about him. Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh had picked up the best goalkeeper award in hockey’s Junior Asia Cup, which India had won around that time in Hyderabad, but the word had not spread in his quiet village.
Things are very different now. With a road near his home named after him, folks in the area are frequently reminded about the big star in their small village.
They must be quiet proud too, for Sreejesh, currently on a European tour with the Indian team, is now rated as one of the world’s best goalkeepers. There will be more to celebrate, with news coming in on Tuesday that the 27-year-old had been selected for the Arjuna Award. When he receives the Arjuna, Sreejesh will be the first male hockey player from Kerala to get the honour.
“Omana Kumari, in 1998, and Helen Mary (2004), who was born in Kerala but who played for Maharashtra, were the two women from the State to get the Arjuna earlier,” said Mariamma Koshy, the Kochi-based vice-president of Hockey India.
India’s Asian Games triumph at Incheon last year, where Sreejesh stood like a rock in the nerve-wracking shootout against Pakistan in the final, played a big part in the goalkeeper getting the Arjuna.
The Asiad gold, which India won after 16 years, also helped India qualify for next year’s Rio Olympics.
Wanted to be a sprinter
But as a little boy, hockey was far from Sreejesh’s mind. Athletics was his first love. He was keen to become a sprinter but soon realised that he was not fast enough.
He then went to the long jump and shot put and even tried his hand at volleyball before his coach at Thiruvananthapuram’s G.V. Raja Sports School asked him to try goalkeeping for the school team. He was in class eight then.
Wall of India
The country should be happy that Sreejesh made the switch for he has saved India during many high-pressure situations and gained the reputation as ‘the Wall of India’.
“My strength and my weakness are the same, my stubbornness to excel once I have made a choice. It helps me adjust to everything but also keeps me agitated, trying to get better,” he had said once.
That had helped him work tirelessly despite being in the shadows of senior goalkeepers in the national team for a major part of his career. But he rose to prominence in the inaugural Asian Champions Trophy in 2011 with a sterling display in the final.
“It has taken me so long to reach here, someone has to really push me off to take this spot,” he often keeps saying.
He has worked hard and patiently for years, he is now reaping the rewards.
