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Goalie extraordinaire

Photo:AFP (Cover and left: Vipin Chandran)

Laudable triumph (Extreme left) Indian hockey players hold the trophy (Sreejesh is holding the flag) of the 6th Junior Asia Cup following their victory against South Korea in Hyderabad on July 18, 2008.

The car veers to the left and stops beside a small bakery at the quiet village of Erumely, near Kizhakkambalam, around 25 kilometres from the city. A couple of curious eyes peer at you and turn even more bewildered when you ask them to direct you to Indian junior hockey goalkeeper, Sreejesh P. Ravindran’s home. It becomes quite obvious that they have not heard of Asia’s best goalkeeper, little about hockey, or of their native’s achievements in the national sport.

Not surprising. For it is usual here for ordinary players in some high-profile sport to be lauded and turned heroes overnight, while genuine achievers like Sreejesh often go unnoticed. A couple of frantic calls on Sreejesh’s mobile and a motorcyclist stops beside the car. He leads us through narrow lanes, past vast stretches of paddy fields, rubber, banana plantations, a temple pond, to a small house amidst trees and flowers. The tall, strapping, 20-year-old young man in his India jersey and broad smile greets us.

In the recent Junior Asia Cup held in Hyderabad, which India won, Sreejesh was nominated as the best goalkeeper. It was a crowning moment in this hard-working goalie’s career, one punctuated by struggles.

Unlike many, Sreejesh did not begin as a hockey player. While at school, that is, till he joined the G. V. Raja Sports School, he was a shot-putter. Even here he started off with athletics training before he made the switch to hockey. That happened when he was halfway into Class VIII. Sreejesh is now doing his graduation in History. “Though I have registered with the Kerala University, I have not attended a single class so far,” says Sreejesh with a sheepish grin.

Picked up by hockey coaches Jayakumar and Ramesh Kolappa at the sports school, Sreejesh soon got hooked to the beauty of hockey. He went on to represent Kerala schools and also played in the Nehru Cup tournament.

From then it was a real slog to the top. There were many trying moments that Sreejesh had to go through, like being made the first stand-by for the junior tour to Bangladesh, considered ‘too junior’ to be fitted into the team for the Junior Asia Cup in 2003 and when the sub-junior trip to Bangladesh was cancelled. But this street-smart youngster knew how to overcome all this, always putting things in perspective. This attitude paid off. Sreejesh was picked for the senior national camp at Chandigarh in 2003, prior to the India-Pakistan series. Though he did not make it to the team, he says that “was a true learning experience.” The next year Sreejesh made his international debut with the junior Indian team in the Test series against Australia at Perth.

He made a tremendous impact in the closely fought series. He also got to play in the tours to Pakistan and Malaysia. “That tour to Pakistan was a turning point. Playing against them on their home turf has always been tough. I still think that was one of my best performances.”

There was no looking back for this goalie. His progress has been steady and his performances under the bar consistent. He played for the country in the SAF Games where they lost to Pakistan, then in the junior tours to Poland for the Challenge Trophy where they finished winners, to Germany and the Indoor Asian Games in Macau. “The indoor tournament was a unique experience. This was the first time the national side was playing in such an event. The six-a-side game was played on a sort of rubberised, fast surface, with an unusual plastic-coated dimpled ball with a different set of rules. We did well to finish third here. I think we’ll soon be seeing a lot of this new, recognised form of the game.”

This year has been a dream one for Sreejesh. He played the eight-nation tournament in Malaysia where India finished runner-up, made his debut in the senior side at the Azlan Shah Cup in Kuala Lumpur where they entered the final after a long gap of 13 years and then the wonderful moment at the dramatic Junior Asia Cup where he was named the best goalkeeper in Asia. “I got to play three games at the Azlan Shah event, where Adrian (D’Souza) was the main goalkeeper. In the Asia Cup I played six games and conceded only four goals. There were some exciting moments like the brawl against Pakistan and the nail-biting final against South Korea…”

Sreejesh pauses for a moment. “There was a time when I struggled to find a sponsor. My father, a small-time farmer, had very little to shell out of his savings to support me. Yet he did so much for me. A goalkeeper kit costs more than Rs. 50,000. There were times when I felt so bad when I saw the others coming with the latest equipment. Now, I have a sponsor, and an assistant manager job with the Indian Overseas Bank in Chennai. The clouds have cleared but the scars remain.”

It suddenly begins to rain. With the early showers of the monsoon, the fields nearby are flooded and filled with fishes. There was a time when Sreejesh used to wait longingly for those rainy days. Then with his fishing rods and a knife in hand he used to plunge himself into the fields, the temple pond in the company of his friends. “I miss those lovely days. Nowadays, I’m home only for a couple of days. There are regular training sessions in Chennai, league and other games. Again, most of my friends are not here. How I hope I could turn the clock back for a while.”

Sreejesh drives with us to the small junction that leads to our road back. Even as he gets down and waves to us, I notice a crowd of schoolboys and a couple of aged men stare at this strong youth with a warm smile. The car gained speed, the boys and the people had by now crowded around their own goalie.

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