Veteran Indian hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh is taking one tournament at a time as far as his future is concerned. The 35-year old, who is currently playing in the Asian Champions Trophy in Chennai says he will “see how things happen” after the Asian Games in China in September-October.
The goalkeeping legend is nearing 300 international matches after making his India debut in 2006. He is currently sharing the goalkeeping duties for India with Krishan Bahadur Pathak in the ongoing Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) in Chennai.
“At this age, better don’t ask me about the next two years. It’s all about the next one. I am at the Asian Games, and after that, I’ll see how things happen. I will take it one tournament at a time,” Sreejesh told PTI when asked about the possibility of him featuring in another ACT.
The ACT is a biennial tournament, but the venue and dates of the next edition is yet to be announced. As (Novac) Djokovic said, ’35 is the new 25′. So, I’m definitely there,” Sreejesh further added.
India is dominating the tournament as they finished the round-robin stage on top of the points table. The Harmanpreet Singh-led side thrashed arch-rivals Pakistan 4-0 on Wednesday. India will next face Japan in the semifinal on Friday.
Ahead of the knockouts, Sreejesh doesn’t want his team to be complacent especially after the win against Pakistan. “All the matches are important for us at this stage. Also, once you come to a certain level, it’s all about your and your team’s performance. It’s just a pool game (vs Pakistan). So, you don’t need to be too excited about it, but just gain the three points,” he said.
“We are not at a stage to say that we will win it. But, the way we are playing and showing it on the field, we believe we will put up a strong show against the sides coming up,” he added.
After the Asian Champions Trophy, India will be playing in the Asian Games at Huanbgzhu, China. The multi-sport event will commence from 19th September. For Hockey, the Asian Games will serve as an Olympic qualifier. The team that wins the gold medal in the event will gain a direct entry to the Paris Olympics 2024.
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