PARIS:The spotlight on Thursday will be on PR Sreejesh’s final Olympic match as India play Spain for the Paris Olympics 2024 bronze medal. India were edged out 3-2 by a tactical German team in the semis while the Netherlands blanked Spain four goals to nothing on Tuesday.
At the Yves-du-Manoir stadium here on Thursday, the curtains will come down on Sreejesh’s glittering career and the former FIH Goalkeeper of the Year, playing his fourth Olympics at Paris 2024, urged teammates to clinch a podium finish as a farewell gift. India had won the bronze medal at Tokyo 2020, ironically by beating Germany.
“Against Spain, it’s a medal match. It’s not about me. It’s about the 19 players who are here, the support staff and above all, India. All players should think that this is our last opportunity to win a medal for the country,” said Sreejesh.
For years now, Sreejesh has manned the Indian goal like a ‘wall’ and at Paris 2024, if India entered the semifinals by beating Great Britain with just 10 men on the pitch for almost 45 minutes, the 36-year-old Kerala legend played a rock solid part.
“It’s my job to defend the goal. There is no need to take extra credit. When everyone gets beaten, I am the last man standing. I have done my best and sometimes I have disappointed as well. It’s then that my teammates have backed me up so well. I am hoping that my last dance will be a happy one,”said Sreejesh.
The defeat against Germany in the semis was purely due to India’s inability to convert penalty corners. India got a dozen of them and managed to score two goals, one off a deflection. An all-round German team got seven penalty corners and scored twice, including one that got converted to a stroke after a video referral.
After the win against Great Britain, India were extremely high on morale going into the semifinals. But emotions don’t count in an Olympic match and no one knows it better than Sreejesh, a former India captain who has played over 325 international matches for India since 2006.
“Some days are really harsh and (against Germany) it was one such day. They did their homework well and knew how to stop Harmanpreet (Singh), who is one of the world’s best dragflickers. But we have to quickly move on from this loss. Spain is not an easy team to beat. They fought really well in the quarters but we now have to bounce back,” said Sreejesh.
In the Olympics, India and Spain have clashed 10 times. India have won seven times and lost once. In the last five international meetings, India have a 4-1 win-loss record. But history counts for nothing at an Olympics. India need to drastically improve their conversion rate to win a second straight bronze. Germany will play the Netherlands for the gold medal.