NEW DELHI: 'The god of modern Indian hockey'. These words were on a giant display welcoming all to a one-of-a-kind felicitation function organised by Hockey India for India's now-retired hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh.
During a felicitation function on Wednesday, Hockey India retired Sreejesh's jersey No. 16 and officially named him as the coach of the junior men's team. The 36-year-old said he drew inspiration from Rahul Dravid. "I wanted to be a coach. That was always my plan. The question was when? After retirement, the family comes first. I needed to talk with them if they are okay with this (Sreejesh getting into the coaching role).
"The way I wanted is to start with the juniors, and Rahul Dravid is an example. It's like you develop a bunch of players, get them into the senior team, and let them follow you," Sreejesh said. "The focus is on creating a strong feeder system."
Meanwhile, HI will add former internationals Defender Birendra Lakra and SV Sunil are likely to Sreejesh's coaching group. While Lakra has accepted the offer Sunil is yet to convey his decision.
