Recently retired Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh is a sporting legend and will inspire the next generation of hockey players in the country, his teammates said on Saturday after returning from the Paris Olympics with a second consecutive bronze medal. India, eight-time Olympic champions, won the bronze medal in Paris, defeating Spain 2-1 in the play-offs. India’s last Olympic gold medal in hockey came in 1980. “Sreejesh is the best person, a legend, and India calls him the ‘Great Wall’, incredible, that’s all I can say he played his best hockey and contributed to the country by playing hockey, and the standard he set as a goalkeeper, that will inspire the next generation,” forward Lalit Upadhyay said during a felicitation ceremony here.
“I would like to thank the whole country for the overwhelming support they have given to hockey, like last time, but even more so now, hockey is still in people’s hearts, they continue to love the sport and support it. ” Lalit also praised inspirational captain Harmanpreet Singh, who scored 10 goals and emerged as the tournament’s leading scorer.
“The country gave him (Harmanpreet) a new nickname (Sarpanch). I’m happy that the country gave him that nickname, whoever loves hockey, as a great captain, he showed his character and being the top scorer at the Olympics is a great achievement.
“He is a legend, there is much more to do now, and our vision is that we move forward and can change the color of the medal and make our dream come true.” Lalit recalled the fighting spirit shown by the team against Great Britain in the quarter-finals, when they were left with 10 players for more than 40 minutes of the match, but ended up winning.
“I would like to thank the coaching staff and all the players, we played as a cohesive unit and showed the character of the team, we had to give our all, because at that moment we had no option to retreat. the game and I can’t say more,” he said.
Defender Jarmanpreet Singh wished Sreejesh luck after his retirement from hockey.
“I don’t need to say anything about Sreejesh, the whole country praises him and has seen him play, everyone calls him ‘Wall’, he is a legend and a great player. , and I wish Sreejesh continues to do good work in hockey,” he said.
He also praised captain Harmanpreet’s efforts in the tournament.
“Harmanpreet is a goal machine for the team and we get a lot of help from him, he is the ‘Sarpanch’.” Jarmanpreet was happy with her performance in her first Olympics.
“I had fun at the Olympics this year, this was my first Olympics and my goal was to do well for my team and country.
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