 "Sreejesh ranks Tokyo Bronze above Paris, feels they should have won Gold")
A proud owner of two consecutive Olympic medals, Indian hockey star P R Sreejesh says the bronze claimed in Tokyo three years ago is closer to his heart than the one fetched in Paris as the former was like a mythical tale coming true after decades of merely hearing about it.
The 36-year-old goalkeeper, who bid adieu to his international career at the end of India's Paris campaign, was, in fact, a shade disappointed with the colour of the medal this time as he felt the team should have done better.
"Tokyo for sure because we won an Olympic medal after a long time. Earlier we used to hear what an Olympic medal means as hockey has a rich history of gold, silver and bronze medals. But it never came in our hands. So when we got it for the first time, that was a moment," Sreejesh told PTI editors at its headquarters when asked to make the difficult choice here on Tuesday.
"That time we were not sure about winning a medal but this time we were in top six and capable of beating any team. But (in Tokyo) to become a medallist was a dream," he explained the difference.
India's hockey team had not won an Olympic medal in 41 years when it entered the Tokyo Games.
Cut to Paris, the side was expected to be among the top two, which made a laudable third place finish look a bit disappointing and Sreejesh agreed.
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"...this time, we had that hope that we are going to be (number) one. I feel it is a big disappointment (not to get a gold), it should have been a gold. The big difference is there (in Tokyo) I was happy but here I was like...," he shrugged, unable to find the right words for his emotions in Paris, where he also ended up being the Indian contingent's flag-bearer in the closing ceremony.
The Paris bronze was India's 13th Olympic medal in hockey. It was also the first time since 1972 that the nation won back-to-back medals in hockey.
The charismatic goalkeeper, who became a unifying force for the team during the campaign, was rock solid in his role throughout and was deservedly given a farewell to remember.
His voice became shaky more than once as he recalled those moments, which included him sitting on the goalpost while his teammates bowed to him and being carried on the shoulders by skipper Harmanpreet Singh at the end of the bronze medal match.
The way teammates gave me farewell was fantastic
Sreejesh, who has 336 international caps, was overwhelmed by the way his teammates accorded him farewell and was seen with tears in his eyes once the side ensured a podium finish in the French capital.
"That was a fantastic moment. Whenever a player goes out, I have never seen everyone walking you out of the field. That was a proud moment. Whenever I was thinking about my retirement, I told the players 'you guys form two lines and I would just walk in between you'," he said.
"This was like far better than that. You are celebrating and all the youngsters are with you, you are sitting on top of the goalpost. After the victory Harmanpreet (Singh) said climb on my shoulders, but I said leave you can't pick me. Then he was carrying me and I was like I don't need anything more than that.
"Then I got to know I am the flag-bearer (for the closing ceremony). This was like cherry on the cake," added Sreejesh, who represented India in four Olympics.
Asked just why is he choosing to retire despite still being strong under the post, the imposing goalkeeper from Kerala replied: "During last Olympics, one of my coaches said when you retire, people should ask 'why', they shouldn't ask 'why not'.
"That thing was there in my mind and I thought this is it, give your best...Now I am so happy and I think this is the right time to retire.