"One dream of mine that remained unfulfilled was winning the World Cup" - PR Sreejesh dwells on the one disappointment after hockey retirement 

Indian hockey player PR Sreejesh, who retired from the sport after a successful Paris Olympics campaign, recently shared one of the disappointments of his career. The celebrated goalkeeper was instrumental in India's bronze medal win in Paris, however, he missed not winning a World Cup.

Speaking at a felicitation ceremony on August 14, Sreejesh shared that not winning a World Cup after appearing in four events felt disappointing.

"One dream of mine that remained unfulfilled was winning the World Cup. I have won Olympic medals, Asian Games medals but not the World Cup. I have played in four, with three being at home, but somehow, every time we got close, someone was able to snatch it from us," said Sreejesh.

The last time India won the hockey World Cup was in 1975. However, the Kerala-born player showed full faith in the Indian team to win the coveted hockey World Cup in 2026.

"I have complete belief in this Indian team. I have faith that they will win the World Cup in 2026 and stand proudly on the podium with my jersey,” he added.

India had a disappointing campaign at the 2023 FIH Hockey World Cup, finishing ninth in the competition. The next World Cup is slated to be held in 2026 in Belgium.

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PR Sreejesh retires from hockey as a double Olympic medalist among several other achievements

PR Sreejesh is the proud winner of two Olympic medals, with a bronze medal win at Tokyo 2020 and another in Paris. However, the 36-year-old has plenty more silverware to boast of.

The former Indian goalkeeper has two Asian Games gold medals (2014 Incheon and 2023 Hangzhou) to go with two silvers at the Commonwealth Games. He has also won the FIH Best Goalkeeper of the Year award twice in his career.

A Khel Ratna Awardee, PR Sreejesh retires with more than 300 International caps for the Indian men's hockey team.

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