The Indian men's hockey team brought glory to the country when they ended a 41-year Olympic medal drought after defeating Germany 5-4 at the Tokyo Olympics to win the bronze medal in August.
Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who made some vital saves during the course of the Tokyo Olympics, has been nominated for the FIH Men's Goalkeeper of the Year 2020-21. Speaking about the nomination, Sreejesh said, "It feels amazing when your efforts and hard work is recognized. It's a huge honour for me to be nominated for the award. This nomination is not only for my own performance, but the team's performance as a whole in the last one year. We have played some excellent hockey and I would like to thank my teammates for their support throughout my career."
When asked about the historic Olympic bronze medal-winning campaign in Tokyo, Sreejesh expressed that he experienced the best moment of his career.
"Winning the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics will always be the most special moment in my career. The Olympics is the biggest tournament for any sportsperson and all of us dream of winning an Olympic Medal.
“The team fought hard throughout the tournament and we never gave up. Even when we were trailing 1-3 against Germany in the Bronze Medal match, we didn't give up and that shows the character of this side," said the 33-year-old.
Sreejesh added that the Indian Men's Hockey Team is certainly going to work harder to achieve even better results in the future.
"We are not done yet. Yes, winning an Olympic medal is a huge achievement for us, however, we have the potential to do even better in the future. We are going to continue to work hard in the upcoming months and ensure that we are evolving and growing as a team. We will set fresh goals for ourselves and try our level best to achieve all our targets," Sreejesh said.
