2024-08-06 07:47:40
Paris: Whenever the names of the greatest goalkeepers in Indian hockey history are taken, PR Sreejesh’s name will be at the top. In countless Olympics, countless World Cups and countless Asian Games, PR Sreejesh has stood as India’s strongest wall. In the quarter-final against Great Britain on Sunday at the Paris Olympics, PR Sreejesh gave his all. Sreejesh bore 21 shots of Great Britain on his chest, but did not let the British take the lead. After the score remained 1-1 till full time, Sreejesh lived up to expectations in the shootout as well. Earlier, in the bronze medal match in Tokyo, he had also shown amazing defense against Germany.
Before the match, it occurred to me that…
Before playing the quarter-finals, PR Sreejesh had a thought whether this would be his last match or he would get a chance to play two more matches. On the basis of Sreejesh’s excellent performance, India defeated Britain 4-2 in the penalty shootout and made it to the last four. Sreejesh, who saved many goals for Britain, said after the victory, ‘This is the daily work of a goalkeeper. Sometimes there are different situations but today was our day. All our shots in the shootout were accurate. Our players scored goals and my confidence increased. When I came on the field, I had only two options. This would be my last match or I would get a chance to play two more matches. After all, now I will get two more matches. Whoever is in front of us in the semi-finals, we will show our natural game. This is important because we played today without a player.
The score was 1-1 at full time
In the shootout, captain Harmanpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Lalit Upadhyay and Rajkumar Pal scored for India while only James Albery and Jacques Vallance could score for England. Conor Williamson missed the target and Philip Roper’s shot was saved by Sreejesh. In the stipulated time, Harmanpreet scored for India in the 22nd minute and Lee Morton in the 27th minute. Britain took advantage of Rohidas getting a red card and scored a penalty corner in the 19th minute, but could not score. India got a penalty corner in the 22nd minute in a counter-attack, which Harmanpreet converted into a goal. This was his seventh goal in the Paris Olympics. Britain’s Morton scored the equaliser in the 27th minute.