Last Update: January 10, 2023, 19:30 IST
Indian hockey team goalkeeper PR Sreejesh. (Photo: Twitter/Sreejesh PR)
India finished on top of their pool, winning two matches and drawing one, but lost 2–1 to eventual runners-up Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the 2018 edition.
All set to play in his 4th FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup and third on home soil, experienced India Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh feels his team can do better than their quarter-final exit in the last edition, and also finish on top of the podium this time around.
The showpiece starts here on Friday.
India topped their pool after winning two matches and drawing one, but lost 2–1 to eventual runners-up Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the 2018 edition, which this time was played at one of the two venues, the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar Was.
“It is a great honor for me to play my fourth World Cup for my country and more importantly, it is my third World Cup on home soil. I don’t think any player has had the fortune of playing three World Cups at home,” Sreejesh said ahead of India’s first Pool D match against Spain on Friday.
“In 2018, we could not make it to the semi-finals. Now, we have one more chance to change our luck in this mega event. Hopefully we can improve on our previous performance and reach the top.”
India has not finished on the podium in 48 years since winning the gold in the 1975 edition in Kuala Lumpur under the captaincy of Ajit Pal Singh.
The 34-year-old veteran goalkeeper, who is the second most capped Indian player in the team after Manpreet Singh, said results matter more than the number of appearances a player makes for an event as important as the World Cup.
“I have always felt that it does not matter how many times you have played a tournament, rather it matters whether you have won it or not. This time too, it is important for me to give my 100 per cent and get the desired results from the tournament. It is important to do,” said Sreejesh, who played a major role in India’s historic bronze-winning feat at the Tokyo Olympics.
Sreejesh, who was named the FIH Goalkeeper of the Year, recalled his first outing at the World Cup when the head coach asked him to defend India’s position against nemesis Pakistan. This was during the New Delhi edition in 2010.
“My first match in the World Cup was against Pakistan. I still remember, during the team meeting, our coach had said that Pakistan would come fully prepared for goalkeeper Adrian (D’Souza), so he decided to put me in the match against him.
“When he asked me to pad up, the feeling of getting an opportunity was unbelievable,” Sreejesh recalled.
“Playing my first World Cup match against Pakistan in front of a packed home ground was a dream come true. I can still feel the atmosphere, how the stadium was, how the crowd reacted and how we won that match. It was the best moment for me as a young player.” He also recalled India’s defeat in the following World Cup events.
“Every World Cup is special for a player but I remember the 2014 World Cup in The Hague very well. Unfortunately we finished ninth but we fought really well in that tournament. Personally, for me, I thought it was a great performance.”
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)