Exclusive: India hockey goalkeeper Krishan Pathak says ‘big shoes to fill’ after PR Sreejesh retirement

Indian hockey team goalkeeper Krishan Pathak has big shoes to fill following the retirement of the legendary PR Sreejesh. Sreejesh officially hung up his boots following the 2024 Paris Olympics in August, where India won a bronze medal by beating Spain in the playoff match.

Sreejesh has since taken over as the head coach of the India men’s junior team, who are currently playing in the Sultan of Johor Cup in Malaysia. While Krishan admitted that the void left by Sreejesh is a big one to fill, the 27 year-old feels that the transition is not difficult due to the valuable lessons he has learnt from the 36-year-old.

“Obviously, there are big shoes to fill. It’s not like you fill someone’s shoes immediately. You need discipline and dedication and hard work to fill those shoes. Yes, but I am lucky to have played with him in the last six-seven years (Sreejesh). I have got the opportunity to learn a lot from him,” Krishan Pathak told Firstpost’s Rupha Ramani during an exclusive interaction on the First Sports show.

“It’s not just me, but the entire team has learnt a lot from him. It’s not like he is away from the team now. He is with us coaching the junior team. There’s a lot to learn from him for sure, but yes, it’s not difficult for me to fill his place because of how he has helped me throughout,” he added.

Krishan speaks on Sreejesh’s leadership qualities

When asked about a particular aspect he has learnt from Sreejesh, Krishan noted the Kerala-born former athlete’s leadership qualities. “Leadership is one of the aspects I have learnt from Sreejesh. He has given me inputs on how to guide the team forward, how to prepare for the match off the field. He also motivates us during training sessions. It’s not like you give your 20 per cent or 50 per cent in training, you have got to give your 100 per cent. He tells us that you shouldn’t regret saying that “I could have done this, done that,” he said.

‘Craig Fulton has formed a special bond with players’

Krishan also spoke on India head coach Craig Fulton during the interaction. Fulton joined the India men’s team as coach in March 2023, and has guided the team to a bronze medal in Paris Olympics and most recently, winning the Asian Champions Trophy title by beating hosts China in the final.

“As a coach, Craig Fulton has maintained a special friendly bond with the players, because after all, even he has played professional hockey. So, he understands us quite well. He has built quite a special bond personally with each player as well. The players also trust the coach, whatever doubts they have or whatever is bothering them in the mind, they approach the coach directly,” said Krishan.

India will take on Germany in a two-match test series in Delhi, starting with the first match on 23 October. This will be for the first time in more than a decade that Delhi will be hosting an international hockey match. India had lost to Germany 2-3 in the semi-finals of the Paris Olympics, and Krishan said that the team will work hard to get the better of Germans this time around.

“We have played quite good matches against Germany. Take the Paris Olympics semi-final for example. It’s going to be a great series, and above all, it’s taking place in Delhi. An international tournament is being held in Delhi for the first time in I think 10-11 years.

“We are also excited, because we play regularly in Bhubaneswar, but we have not played in Delhi recently. If we have to play really well in both the matches, we’ve got to train hard for that,” he said.

India played Pakistan at the Asian Champions Trophy recently in China, where the Harmanpreet Singh-led side won 2-1 against the arch-rivals. Krishan feels that Pakistan are an improving side in hockey once again.

“Obviously, the competition between India and Pakistan is always there. We usually play good matches against each other. We Indians eagerly wait for a match against Pakistan. We recently played against them in the Asian Champions Trophy. Pakistan team is improving now, there’s good competition against them . We cannot take Pakistan lightly,” he stated.