Sreejesh's knowledge will benefit junior side: India hockey captain

Indian men's team skipper Harmanpreet Singh believes that PR Sreejesh's extensive knowledge of modern hockey will greatly benefit the junior side as he takes on his new role as coach.

Sreejesh's new innings as coach will begin when India take on Japan on October 19.

"The amount of experience Sreejesh has, especially the knowledge when it comes to modern hockey because he has just retired, is a big plus point he has," Harmanpreet told PTI Video in an exclusive interaction.

"When he shares it with the team then the youngsters will get to know, learn from his experiences, which will eventually help the team perform better.

 

"But he has just joined two days back and has not spent much time with the side, but I have a lot of faith on him that he will manage it, the way he used to do with us and will enable the youngsters to enjoy success like he did," he added.
 

On Sreejesh's future as a senior coach, he said: "You'll have to ask him about that. I believe he can do it, but coaching is a totally different field."

"He's just starting with the junior team, and this will be his first experience in coaching, which will surely be challenging. However, he has the knowledge and the ability to maintain discipline among the players, so I'm hopeful something good will come out of it."

The ace dragflicker attributed his success to putting in hard work in practice, and his extra gym sessions.

"Practice is crucial. Of course, first comes practice, but individually, it's also about how much you contribute. Whenever I'm on the field, after every session, I work on my flicks," he said.

"I also do extra gym sessions focusing on my lower body and shoulders. Additionally, I analyse the opposing teams, especially their goalkeepers and first rushers, reviewing their videos and discussing strategies in team meetings. It's a combination of many things.