Going into the men's hockey quarterfinal match against Great Britain at the Paris Olympics on Sunday, veteran India goalkeeper PR Sreejesh wondered if this would be his last match or would he get two more games before calling time on an illustrious career. (Medal Table | Schedule & Results | Full Coverage)
Sreejesh starred with some incredible saves to deny Great Britain and help his team to a 4-2 win in the penalty shoot-out after the regulation time ended with the score locked at 1-1.
Playing in his last international tournament, Sreejesh was the cynosure of all eyes as he consistently denied Great Britain scoring opportunities while the others rallied around him. In the penalty shoot-out, he saved the third and the fourth shots to help India win.
"(It is a) daily job of a goalie. Some days it's a different effort (but) today is our day. Even in the shootout, the guys who took shots didn't disappoint," he told the broadcaster after India's stunning win.
"They scored and that gave me enough confidence," the Indian goalkeeper said.
By his own admission, the 36-year-old lanky custodian from Kerala strives from one-on-one situations.
"Shoot-out is normal for a goalkeeper, we train a lot. Second thing, there are two ways -- one just kill that eight seconds, second save the goal, so when you kill the time, automatically the pressure goes to the opposition and they try something wrong, and I think, and simultaneously you need support from your players as well," Sreejesh said.
India scored in the shoot-out through skipper Harmanpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Lalit Upadhyay and Rajkumar Pal.
"Because my players, they score four goals, that's an important part because when they keep on scoring that gives me confidence and that takes off pressure from me," Sreejesh said.
"So I think it's not about me, it's about them, when they support me, they make my job really easy."
India produced a unified effort on the field to thwart consistent challenges from the world No 2 Great Britain side and forced the game into the penalty shootout, from which they emerged winners at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium.
Sreejesh said it was a "do-or-die" like situation for him and he was absolutely ready to take the game head on.
"When I stepped on this field today, there was two options for me. This can be my last match, or I got an opportunity for two more matches and I think, yeah, I got two more matches now," he said.
Sreejesh said Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist India will focus on their game in the semifinals.
"See, whoever comes in the semis, we (will) just play our game. That's it, that's important, because now it's a different game, because we are one man down and we need to focus on that now," he said.
Sreejesh said India will wait for the FIH's (International Hockey Federation) decision on the red card shown to Amit Rohidas with more than 40 minutes left in the game.
"I don't know how it's going to be. They must take a decision on that. We are just waiting for that, but still, we need to play our best game in the semifinals," he said.
