“I grew up hearing chants of ‘Sachin, Sachin’ and when you hear your name being chanted in such a big stadium, it feels special.That’s the beauty of hockey. Irrespective of where you are from, if you are playing well, everyone will support you. Sometimes, I wondered if they were calling Britain, Britain or my name. Then I realized it was my name only. But I stood grounded and won,” Sreejesh said.
Asked whether he felt confident going into the shoot-out, the seasoned campaigner said his extra workload helped him do well in the tie-breaker.
“Throughout the game there was more pressure on me. I was making many saves and automatically you get tired. But the British ‘keeper didn’t face many such problems, so he was relatively fresh. I think those saves stood me in good stead and increased my confidence.”
Sreejesh said unlike many previous occasions, the Indian players scored without any trouble. “When I saw our players score, I grew more confident. Normally, I find them under pressure in such situations but today they scored easily. So when we scored twice, my confidence level shot up,” he said.
“In a shootout, the idea is to kill the eight seconds. Then the pressure goes to the rival player and often he makes a mistake. But you also need your players’ support. They scored four goals and that was important.
Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey also lavished praise on the India custodian. “Sreejesh was our god today because of the way he saved the day for us,” the former India skipper said.
Sreejesh’s ‘abuse’ a motivating factor
Half Manpreet Singhwho fell back to help the defence after Amit Rohidas‘ exit, said he feels it odd if Sreejesh doesn’t shout from the post. “It’s his last dance and he always saves us in the shootout. Even if he abuses me, I take it sweetly. If he is quiet then I feel as if something is wrong,” he said, laughing.
Sreejesh also explained why he sometimes sounds harsh in the heat of the game. “I know how to keep the defenders on their toes. For outsiders that might be abuse, but they take it well. When they hear it they know something is wrong. It is a motivation for them and for me it’s like they are listening to me and playing well,” Sreejesh said.
Manpreet, meanwhile, said that this was one of their greatest wins.
Row over video tablet
The shoot-out was delayed before Sukhjeet Singh took India’s second shot after the officials took away an iPad from the British ‘keeper Ollie Payne. An official appeared to have taken the tablet and Payne was seen digging into it. Hockey India, later officially raised concerns.
“The key issues highlighted include inconsistent video umpire reviews, particularly regarding the red card decision for an Indian player, which has eroded trust in the video review system,” HI said.
“Coaching of a goalkeeper from behind the goal during the shoot-out and use of a video-tablet by a goalkeeper during the shoot-out is also a matter of concern.”
