“Same case as Sachin Tendulkar” - Former Indian hockey player Vickram Kanth wants the team to win a medal for PR Sreejesh at the Paris Olympics 2024
Former Indian men’s hockey player Vickram Kanth wants the team competing at the Paris Olympics 2024 to give a proper farewell to PR Sreejesh with a podium finish. Sreejesh played a major role in India’s bronze medal-winning run at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but Vickram now expects the team to better the medal color this time in Paris.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Vickram Kanth shared his journey with “The Wall” PR Sreejesh and another veteran, Manpreet Singh. He said:
“Manpreet came a little later in my career, but Sreejesh and I started off very much together in the 2003 Asia Cup. Sreejesh made his debut at the national camp. He didn't make it to the team, though, but a couple of years later, we played together in the Junior World Cup in Rotterdam in 2005. Sreejesh and I played up to the 2014 Asian Games and the World Cup in 2014. We have shared the locker room for quite some time.”
Vickram added:
“Talking about Manpreet, he joined the national squad in 2011 after the Commonwealth and Asian Games. He was a youngster over there but always showed promise, and we always knew that he was going to do good for himself. He is going to really make a difference with his hard work and dedication, which he showed from a very young age. I think both the players were very committed and showed promise and dedication towards the sport until the very end."
Vickram also shed light on the reason behind Sreejesh announcing his retirement post-Paris Olympics 2024.
“Sreejesh has called and said that this would be his last. Even before leaving for the Paris games, he had personally met me, and he had told me it was enough. It's like he's become quite lonely up there. There is no one of his batch over there. There are many youngsters, and he's been doing it for quite some time. I think he needed that break right now,” he added.
Talking about expectations from experienced Manpreet and Sreejesh, Vickram Kanth noted how their experience of competing in three Olympics before will be crucial. Vickram said:
“Regardless of their performance, there is no doubt that they are going to give their best keeping in mind that it is going to be their last Olympics. The experience they carry of four Olympic appearances - London 2012, when the team did not win any matches; a narrow miss in the Rio 2016 quarters; and Tokyo 2020, where they made it to the podium. The team has improved year by year, and their experience should make a difference.”
He added:
“I think this has been one of the best teams in the sense that there is a good mixture of senior players as well as junior players. Tokyo had a lot of juniors and a few senior players who carried the team, but the current team has a lot of medalists from the Tokyo Olympics group. I think that is the key strength of the team, knowing exactly what is required during key situations during the tournament.
"I think that would be the key factor in the team coming into this Olympics with a really good mix of juniors and seniors. When we talk about juniors, it is not that it is the first time they have just entered the team. It's been like since the last World Cup and Asian Games, there has been a transition."
Furthermore, Vickram compared Sreejesh's retirement to legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar’s last World Cup in 2011, where the Indian team defeated Sri Lanka in the finals to win it for Sachin. Vickram wants the youngsters to do similarly for Sreejesh and give him a perfect farewell.
“Everybody is pumped up, and now, with Sreejesh leaving, I think it goes with the same case as Sachin Tendulkar leaving us during the 2011 Cricket World Cup being his last. So everybody wants to win it for Sreejesh because I think this one medal, I mean, bettering the color, is what is missing in his cabinet. So everybody wants to play for him, and I think the team themselves want to better the color with whatever experience they have from the side,” he noted.
Vickram Kanth’s predictions and opinion on Indian team's selection at Paris Olympics 2024
The Indian team will be taking on Great Britain in the quarterfinals on August 4. They have been brilliant in the group stages, and Vickram believes India will have to keep working hard to secure a medal.
“Keeping in mind India's form, I think India is among the top three or four, and the rest of the countries are also very strong contenders." Vickram said. "So it cannot be said and done that India is going to win the medal for sure. It is going to be tough, but I think, on the given day, whoever keeps the nerves, who really has the best game on the given day, will surely come victorious. So, of course, we are medal contenders, keeping in mind the form we have and the team we have. But I think we really have to work hard our way to get into the medal bracket.”
“Talking about the teams, Belgium, Australia, Netherlands, Germany, and India, I think these five are the medal contenders for sure. These five teams have always been pushing each other. On a given day, whoever plays the best hockey will come out victorious. We cannot say that Belgium is better than Germany or Germany is better than the Netherlands. Every team has been improving by leaps and bounds, as has the Indian team,” Vickram Kanth added.
When asked about his opinion on the team selection, Vickram Kanth said:
“This set of players has been playing for a couple of years. I'm sure the coach would have tried his plans and ideas of what is best for the team and would have selected. We cannot debate about who is missed and who is on the team, but I think it depends on the game plan that the coach wants to play. It depends on the game plan and what the team wants to play. I think all these factors are taken into consideration when making a team.”
He added:
“When we talk about only a single goalkeeper being in the side, that goes for all the teams. I think all the teams carry just one goalkeeper in the playing side and the reserve like how PR Sreejesh is carried. The rule of 16 players in the Olympics has been for a very long time. Just that Tokyo, due to the COVID situation, we had that feasibility of changing players in between where we could feel the other two players who are in reserve also.
"But unlike any other games, 16 is the team that goes to the Olympics, and with one goalkeeper, we have an additional player. So, I think most of the teams are playing with the same game plan of carrying just one goalkeeper and having an additional goalkeeper in the reserves.”
He further added that he met a few players during the pre-season camp in Bengaluru.
“I met Manpreet Singh, who I have played with. We know each other, and I am in contact with some of my teammates, like Hardik Singh. It's always been there; we have been in touch with the players, seeing how things are going and not putting much pressure on them. We know what it takes and how hard they are working, having seen their practice sessions. Everyone wants to win a medal and go to the Olympics. They are very pumped up, and the positive thing is that everyone wants to change the color of the medal.”
Vickram feels India needs to calm their nerves in crunch moments to win an elusive gold medal. Moreover, he thinks that the players will be motivated to go a few steps further this time for PR Sreejesh.
“The conversation before was about qualifying for the quarters and getting to the semis. But now, the talk is about better performance. They have won a bronze, and this time they want a better performance. They need to keep their nerves to get the medal they haven't got. That is the positive the team has carried throughout the training sessions.
"Sreejesh mentioned that this is his last Olympics, but I told him there are the Asian Games and World Cup coming up. He can still pull it off with the form he is in, but he feels it's time to call it quits. It’s another motivating factor for the teammates to do it for Sreejesh. He himself will play a notch better to better his third-place finish in the last games.”
Harmanpreet Singh has led the Indian team from the front with six goals in the group stages. Three of them came through penalty corners, and three via penalty stokes. Here's what Vickram Kanth said about the Indian skipper:
“Harmanpreet Singh is the flag bearer for drag-flicking in India, and Amit Rohidas has been assisting him. Now, we have Sanjay, who is a young and promising drag-flicker. He could be the trump card because not many people know about him. Having seen him train and play from the junior ranks, he has evolved and is capable of making a difference with his skill set. The team has been well thought out, keeping in mind the skill sets. Sanjay could make a difference in some penalty corner variations if teams plan against Harmanpreet."