Lovish Chauhan
North News
Chandigarh, August 16
Hockey India has announced the retirement of the No. 16 jersey from the national senior men’s team to honour goalkeeper PR Sreejesh. “Hockey India has decided to retire jersey number 16 in honour of ‘God of Modern Indian Hockey’ P R Sreejesh. No player from Senior team will wear this number,” wrote Hockey India on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In an interview with the news agency, Sreejesh said, “I wanted to start with the juniors, and Rahul Dravid is one example. It’s like you develop a bunch of players, get them into the senior team, and allow them to follow you.”
Hockey India hosted a grand celebration on Wednesday to celebrate the legacy of PR Sreejesh with the title of ‘God of Modern Indian Hockey’.
“Sreejesh has become an important part of our lives. He has always guided us like an older brother, both on and off the pitch. I’m overjoyed that we could give him a fairytale departure with the Olympic medal. As he hangs his gloves, I’d want to wish him all the best in his future undertakings,” said Harmanpreet Singh, Indian Men’s Hockey Team Captain, on the occasion.
The current Indian Women’s Hockey Team Chief Coach, Harendra Singh, was also a coach for Sreejesh in his earlier days. “I’m very happy and emotional to witness Jangoo win two Olympic medals. All of his efforts and sacrifices over the years have paid off, and it’s wonderful to see him sign off as one of the greats of Indian hockey,” he said on the occasion.
