Indian Hockey Team’s goalkeeper PR Sreejesh on Saturday expressed his desire to coach the Indian team after he decides to hang up his boots. Sreejesh, who will take part in his 4th Olympics in Paris Olympics 2024, did not rule out another Olympics appearance after 2024, claiming his aim is to coach the national team by 2036.
“For me, this Olympics is really important because at this age it is really hard for me to talk about next four year cycle. From the last Olympics, I was only taking one year at a time. The rest decision comes after the Olympics,” Sreejesh told PTI in an interview.
“I don’t think so (it will be his last Olympics) because when you are 36 and doing a beep test of 20.8 , I think it’s quite good.
“(But) after my career I will take a break for sure. I will need time to transfer myself from a player to any role, as a coach, assistant coach or goalkeeping coach. My plan is for long time. My plan is for 2036 or 2040.
“I want to improve myself, I want to see myself as a coach or a chief coach of the Indian national hockey team in that time because by that time I will be more experienced. I want to be a part an Indian independent coaching staff of the national hockey team,” he elaborated about his plans.
Sreejesh, who led the Indian team in the Rio Olympics in 2016, was instrumental in the country’s historic bronze medal victory in the Tokyo Games, and he thinks the current team can perform better in Paris.
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“The goal everytime for an athlete is to win a gold medal in the Olympics but you need to consider the realistic factors. All the top 6 teams in the world are now beating each other. We have got an open pool where anyone can beat anyone. I believe that we have got the potential to finish on the podium for sure but you can’t be overconfident,” he said.
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