PARIS: PR Sreejesh had a few moments of introspection when he sat inside the goal at half time. But at the end of 60 minutes at Yves du Manoir on Thursday, he was on top of the goalpost all over again. It was deja vu - the keeper had relived those winning moments that he had experienced in Tokyo three years ago.
As he stepped down to take off his international hockey pads and passed on the mantle to the next generation - a brilliant chapter in Indian hockey came to an end.
"A coach once told me that when you retire people should say 'why' and not 'why not'. Everybody is asking me why now, so I think this is the right time,"
Sreejesh said when asked whether he would reconsider this decision. "It (the goalpost) was my home for the last 24 years. And I never lived a life outside that and I didn't know what's going to happen next. During the warm-up I just wanted to recollect all the memories - the day I put on the pads for the first time, the day I entered the Indian camp for the first time back in 2002," Sreejesh added.
"Over the years I changed myself, any player I used to be an aggressive 'keeper and shout at my defenders. But when I became the super senior, I could not do the same to my juniors, so I began talking to my post.
"Even after the Argentina match, I asked 'what have you done to me'. So when you take out all your frustrations, it helps you to get back to your normal self." Skipper Harmanpreet said the team will miss their talismanic 'keeper.
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