PR Sreejesh, the Goalkeeper of the Indian Men's Hockey Team, shared insights into the team's preparations for two significant events: the 100th Anniversary Spanish Hockey Federation- International Tournament and the Hero Asian Champions Trophy Chennai 2023. These competitions hold great importance for the team as they pave the way for the crucial Hangzhou Asian Games in September. Success in these tournaments will determine the team's qualification for the Olympics.
India will be going up against England, Netherlands, and Spain in the International Tournament organized by the Spanish Hockey Federation to celebrate Spain's 100th Anniversary.
For the Hero Asian Champions Trophy Chennai 2023, India will be up against China, Korea, Japan, Pakistan and Malaysia in single round-robin format.
Sreejesh has found tremendous value in participating in regular goalkeeping camps led by Dennis van de Pol from the Netherlands. Dennis, an esteemed goalkeeping coach, conducted a special training camp for the Indian Men's Hockey Team from July 13 to July 19. Another training session is scheduled from September 7 to September 14, ahead of the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023.
Sreejesh expressed his admiration for Dennis, highlighting his exceptional coaching skills and vast experience. The collaboration has proven beneficial, especially for young goalkeepers, as they have focused on various aspects such as penalty corner defense, penalty shootouts, and footwork. The insights provided by Dennis have greatly contributed to their preparation for upcoming important tournaments.
Sreejesh expressed his admiration for working closely with coach Dennis van de Pol, acknowledging the value of his extensive experience. Sreejesh believes that their collaboration has been beneficial, especially for the young goalkeepers. They have focused on improving various aspects such as penalty corner defense, penalty shootouts, and footwork, in preparation for upcoming important tournaments.
"For now, personally for me, my immediate focus is on the 100th Anniversary Spanish Hockey Federation- International Tournament, where we will be looking to execute whatever, we have practiced in the camp and the Hero Asian Champions Trophy Chennai 2023 will be a platform to see where we stand ahead of the all-important Asian Games in September," he added.
International hockey is set to make a comeback in Chennai after a gap of 16 years, delighting hockey enthusiasts. The city had previously hosted the 2007 Men's Hockey Asia Cup, where India emerged victorious by defeating South Korea with a score of 7-2. Expressing his excitement about Chennai being chosen to host the Asian Champions Trophy and the long-awaited return of international hockey, the goalkeeper mentioned, "It's wonderful to witness Chennai as the venue for the Asian Champions Trophy. I am confident that the fans will thoroughly enjoy the matches and turn up in large numbers to support us. The hockey-loving crowd in Chennai is incredibly passionate and well-informed, and they have high expectations from us. As a team, we are eagerly looking forward to playing in Chennai and ensuring that we live up to the audience's expectations."
Full list of nominations of Hockey India Annual Awards 2024
Hardik Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Sangita Kumari and Savita Punia have been nominated for the Hockey India Best Player Award in the Hockey India Annual Awards 2024.
Deepika has been nominated for the Asunta Lakra Award for Upcoming Player of the Year. Image | Hockey India
Hockey India have announced all the nominations for the 7th Hockey India Annual Awards 2024. The award ceremony will take place on 15th March in New Delhi with a record prize pool of approx INR 12 crores.
A total of 32 players have been nominated across eight categories for the award ceremony this year. Among all the awards, the Hockey India Balbir Singh Sr. Award for Player of the Year will be under the spotlight which will honour the best male and female hockey players of India.
PR Sreejesh has been nominated for the Baljit Singh Award for Goalkeeper of the Year 2024. Image | Hockey India
During the ceremony, India’s Olympic bronze medal-winning team will be felicitated, along with the Men’s and Women’s teams that won the Asian Champions Trophy in 2024. The Junior Asia Cup-winning Men’s and Women’s teams will also be honoured during the award ceremony.
The award ceremony will also celebrate 50th anniversary of the Indian Men’s Hockey Team’s historic World Cup victory on the same date in 1975—their first and only title to date.
Indian Sports Persons To Win Padma Awards: Full list of 273 names
Former hockey team goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin are among five sportspersons named for the Padma Awards 2025 by the Indian government. Here's the full list of 273 Padma Awards and 1 Bharat Ratna in Sports so far.
Before the Republic Day, the Central Government has announced the Padma Awards, in which this year 5 Indian sportspersons have been honored for their outstanding contribution.
Veteran Indian hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh will be awarded the Padma Bhushan for winning two consecutive Olympic medals.
While India's great cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin will receive the Padma Shri.
The Padma Bhushan is India's third-highest civilian award after Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan. Padma Shri is the fourth-highest civilian award.
The Padma Awards are given to individuals by the government for their distinguished service in any field.
There will be a total of 139 recipients of the Padma Awards 2025. The list comprises seven Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri awards.
Padma Awards 2025 | Winners in Sports
PR Sreejesh (hockey) - Padma Bhushan
Ravichandran Ashwin (cricket) - Padma Shri
IM Vijayan (football) - Padma Shri
Harvinder Singh (para-archery) - Padma Shri
Satyapal Singh (athletics) - Padma Shri
PR Sreejesh (Hockey) | Padma Bhushan
India's great hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh will be awarded the Padma Bhushan, who played an important role in India winning the bronze medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
He becomes only the second hockey player to be conferred the Padma Bhushan after the legendary Major Dhyan Chand, who was honoured with the award in 1956.
Sreejesh also led India to a historic bronze medal in Tokyo 2020 and became the FIH Goalkeeper of the Year for three consecutive times.
Sreejesh's stellar career spanned 18 years, and he represented India in 336 international matches.
He is currently serving as the coach of the Indian men’s junior hockey team.
Ravichandran Ashwin (Cricket) | Padma Shri
India's great spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be awarded the Padma Shri for scoring more than 3,000 runs in 106 Test matches with 537 wickets and 6 centuries.
Before announcing his retirement during the Australia tour in December 2024, Ashwin has been a part of many historic moments for Indian cricket, including the 2011 World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy wins.
He retired as India's second-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket last year.
His contribution led India to success in many important Test series.
IM Vijayan (Football) | Padma Shri
The great footballer of the 1990s IM Vijayan will also be honored with the Padma Shri Award.
He was the biggest star of Indian football before Bhaichung Bhutia and Sunil Chhetri.
Vijayan made his international debut in 1991 against Romania and remained the backbone of the Blue Tigers for 12 years.
Along with Bhaichung, IM Vijayan formed a deadly attacking duo. He hung up his boots in 2003.
Harvinder Singh (Para-archery) | Padma Shri
Archer Harvinder Singh, who achieved India’s first-ever Paralympic gold medal in the sport at Paris 2024, will be awarded the Padma Shri for his historic contribution.
He was also the first archer from India to win a medal in Olympics or Paralympics at Tokyo 2020.
For this brilliant achievement, he has been awarded the country's fourth highest civilian honour.
Harvinder contracted dengue when he was just over a year old and eventually lost the movement in his legs.
Satyapal Singh (Athletics) | Padma Shri
Former athlete and Dronacharya awardee Satyapal Singh has also been selected for Padma Shri.
Satyapal is one of India’s successful international coaches who works with national and international bodies.
He is a former competition manager at the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and a coach of the Indian para-athletics team.
He was also a mentor for Paris 2024 Paralympics gold-winning high-jumper Praveen Kumar.
Sultan of Johor Cup 2024: PR Sreejesh-led Indian Junior Men’s Hockey team wins opener against Japan
The team took inspiration from the former ace goalkeeper and its respected coach PR Sreejesh. This is the first stint as a coach for two-time Olympic medalist Sreejesh. He bid farewell to the sport as a player after the Paris Olympics 2024 in August.
Indian Junior Men's Hockey team has defeated Japan 4-2 in the opening match of the 12th Sultan of Johor Cup 2024 here on Saturday.
The win was welcomed with a big smile by PR Sreejesh
The team took inspiration from the former ace goalkeeper and its respected coach PR Sreejesh. This is the first stint as a coach for two-time Olympic medalist Sreejesh. He bid farewell to the sport as a player after the Paris Olympics 2024 in August.
Goals were scored by Amir Ali (12’), Gurjot Singh (36’), Anand Sourabh Kushwaha (44’) and Ankit Pal (47’) in India’s win while Tsubasa Tanaka (26’) and Rakusei Yamanaka (57’) scored for Japan. It was a high-octane match right from the start with India Colts playing attacking hockey, looking for scoring opportunities early in the game.
India punctured the Japanese defense when Amir Ali scored a fine field goal in the 12th minute of the match. Japan bounced back from this early setback when Tsubasa Tanaka scored in the 26th minute to equalize.
This equalizer didn’t dent India’s spirit as it stopped Japan from taking a 2-1 lead when Neo Sato and Yuto Higuchi worked in tandem to set up a fine shot on goal, thanks to India goalie Ali Khan who was impressive in the goalpost to make a fine save.
Six minutes after the half-time break, India regained the lead when Gurjot Singh, who had made his senior international debut at the Asian Champions Trophy last month, scored a fine field goal. He was brilliantly assisted by Mohd Konain Dad to set up this goal and put India in good momentum.
Only minutes later, Dilraj Singh tactfully helped India earn a crucial PC which helped extend the lead to a strong 3-1 in the 44th minute. Anand Sourabh Kushwaha was on-target as his explosive drag-flick flew past Japan’s goalie Kisho Kuroda.
India’s goal-fest continued into the final quarter with Ankit Pal scoring the team’s fourth goal in the 47th minute. He picked up a rebound from a PC to put the ball past Japan’s keeper. This put India in formidable position.
Though Japan converted a goal in the 57th minute through Rakusei Yamanaka, India stayed ahead 4-2. There were some nervy moments as the match inched towards the final hooter with Indian attackers upping the ante, hunting for a fifth goal. But Japan’s goalie Koki Origasa did well to keep the goal at bay as India ended the play with a fine 4-2 win.
India won 3-1 over Japan in their last match in the Junior Asia Cup in May 2023 and also defeated this team 5-1 in the 2022 Sultan of Johor Cup.
Amir Ali: A Journey From "tin briefcase" to Hockey Glory
Amir Ali, a 20-year-old hockey prodigy from Uttar Pradesh, went from helping his father in a garage to being sold for ₹34 lakhs in the Hockey India League.
The Indian Premier League is a high-profile, cash-rich league that not only opened doors for the national limelight but has provided financial stability to many undiscovered talents. Players getting selected and jumping out of their comforting sofas out of joy is a very usual scene each and every time the hammer hits after a high bid.
This league has religiously followed its slogan, "Yatra Pratibha Avsara Prapnotihi,” which translates to “Where talent meets opportunity.” Talents like Rinku Singh, T. Natarajan, YashasviJaiswal, Chetan Sakaria, etc. had received ample financial gain due to IPL participation.
However, there will be another name on the list of rejuvination: Amir Ali. Yes, of course, he is none from cricket but from another sport from India, Hockey, that once used to be popular. The 20-year-old young prodigy Amir, hailing from Uttar Pradesh, the state of Lalit Upadhyay, got his name in the Team Gonasika for a whopping 34 lakhs in the Hockey India League (HIL).
Who is Amir Ali?
When did Amir start his hockey journey? Idealy, it is at the age of 10, when a senior coach, Rashid Aziz Khan, noticed him at the KD Singh Babu Stadium. Khan used to mentor and groom the local young talents. Eventually, Ali resided in the same locality and got spotted.
Amil Ali, however, has another identity—a helper to his father, Tasawar Ali, in his garage. Senior Ali is a motorcycle mechanic, having a small "tin briefcase" in the name of a garage "outside the main gate of the Jal Nigam office.”
Recently, he has been named as the captain for the 18-member Indian junior team in the 12th edition of the Sultan of Johor Cup. The team coached by PR Sreejesh will tour Malaysia as the tournament will start on October 19.
India will begin their campaign against Japan on Oct 19, followed by matches against Great Britain (October 20), host Malaysia (October 22), Australia (October 23), and New Zealand (October 25). The top 2 teams will fight for the title on October 26th.
Not only that, he is a promising face and is present regularly in the senior camp as a face in the team rebuilding plan.
The father-son partnership; the understanding between "hunar" and passion.
Amir Ali, the eldest of five sibling, had to join his father's business. May be it was a career option to him, or out of responsibility as a son, he stood by his father, believing it was "not one man's job."
Like the engines, his schedule was heavy too. He juggled between three roles a day—a student in the morning, a mechanic in the afternoon, and a hockey player in the evening.
Like his hockey training started in 10, he started servicing bikes when he was just 12 years old. His father strongly believes, ‘yeh hunar hona chahiye.' The brothers must possess the skill, and they do so as all of them worked in the garage, as Amir does whenever he is at home.
However, Tasawar never forced Amir to simply stick with education and garage. Rather, he arranged money for Amir's training. There were times when senior Ali borrowed money to meet Amir's sporting needs, while Amir skipped training to help his father in the garage.
But then he got selected in Saifai's Major Dhyan Chand Sports College. This not only facilitated his training but also eased the burden of his father in terms of providing hockey supplies.
Once a fan, now a colleague to Manpreet Singh
Thanks to Amir Ali for letting the fans know that craze has no limitations when it comes to sport. Yes, cricket dominating the Indian periphery is an undisputed truth, but there are lads like Amir Ali who won't think twice before 12 killometers, at the age of 10, just to watch Manpreet Singh playing for Ranchi!
The young Manpreet Singh was a part of the Ranchi Rhinos in the first phase of the Hockey India League. Amir looked upon him like an idol and never missed any HIL match where Manpreet played.
The former captain and two-time Olympic bronze medallist Manpreet, however, is now a teammate to the young Amir Ali. The Visakhapatnam franchise had stolen Manpreet for Rs 42 lakh, with Amir at 34 lakhs next to him.
The Ray of Hope
Leagues are often criticized as an open platform of commercialization. And there is no point of denying the fact. But what's wrong if commercialization lets art get exposed?
There are thousands and lakhs of Amir Ali's who have restricted themselves within the garage. A heavy pay check will encourage many young talents to take up this sport as a means of profession. Even if they do not break out into the national team, the bench won't stay empty.
League will provide them with the required limelight needed for being the talk of the town, as seen in cricket and other sports. Unlimited competition will come into the scene, hoping talents like Amir Ali can cope with it.
Restraining IPL-like criticisms
At certain point, things look exaggerating when people will bring huge and heavy names like Dhyan Chand or his son Ashok Kumar; KD Singh Babu or Mohammad Shahid; Zafar Iqbal or RP Singh behind young Amir's name.
Critiques will try to put him in their shoes, ignoring his beautifully crafted cut with the stick while beating the opposition's press. They will set aside his tacking skills but will remind him about Lalit and other names his state gifted to the Indian Hockey.
That's what critics do—forcefully trying to fit a Rishabh Pant in M.S. Dhoni's shoes, not letting him be himself, and definitely crashing the self-confidence!
Or bringing back flashbacks of his family struggles—how a basic smartphone was beyond his prescribed luxary—similar to how every time someone drags Jaiswal's struggles every time he smashes a good fifty or a century!
Let Amir's talents prevail. Let his stick do the talking, not his upbringing or the whatever legacy his state holds.
Hockey India League back after 7 years: All you need to know about it
After 7 years, the Hockey India League is making a comeback with a revamped format, with better planning and strong finance, and a dedicated women’s edition.
The two-month span from March onwards is a festival beyond the yearly almanac. TheIndian Premier League blocks all the mundane schedules for seasonal cricket fans. The grandeur it has and the craze and hype it injects into the audience are unmatched. The cash-rich league managed to get a brother in 2013, in Indian Hockey—The Hockey Indian League (HIL). Their motto was the same: popularizing the sport in the country.
The long-run execution fell short of finance and ceased in 2017. After seven long years, HIL is set to make a comeback. On Friday, October 4, Hockey India will inaugurate their HIL 2.0, having Women's Hockey their first HIL!
Hockey India League 2.0
It is a resurgence, rather than a revamp of the previous edition of the Hockey Premier League, with better planning and steady finance.
The IPL started after the 2007 T-20 World Cup win. This version of HIL is nothing but a by-product of two back-to-back Olympic bronzes and a gold in the Asian Games. HI has announced that the HIL will start with initially 8 teams in the men's and 6 in the women's edition.
A total of 10 franchise owners have come on board.
For the men's event, franchises that came forward are:
Chennai- Charles Group,
Lucknow- Yadu Sports,
Punjab- JSW Sports,
WestBengal- Shrachi Sports,
Delhi- SG Sports and Entertainment (team name: Delhi SG Pipers)
Each franchise will build a 24-player (men and women each) squad. Each team will have a mix of 16 Indian players, a mandatory inclusion of four junior players, and a maximum of eight international players.
To make the pre-tournament phases more scintillating, the auction procedure has been added to it. Three categories have been induced according to the ranks of each player: Rs 2 lakh (for juniors), Rs 5 lakh, and Rs 10 lakh.
The auction will take place between Oct 13 and 15.
However, the tournament will be restricted to venues only. Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Astroturf Hockey Stadium in Ranchi, Jharkhand, and Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela, Odisha. Ranchi will host all the women's matches while the men's matches will take place in Rourkela.
Photo credit: TOI
The main reason behind limiting it to two stadiums is finance and the craze.
Finance
According to the Times of India, a huge sum of Rs 3,640 crore will be invested for Hockey Indian League purposes for the coming 10 years. HI will chip in some 112 crore each year, mainly on HL's title sponsor and media rights.
A few sources informed that HI has promised to contribute a total of Rs. 1,120 crore for the coming ten years for the swift perpetration of the revamp.
The franchises will lay out around Rs 18 crores on each of the total 14 teams (men and women), each year, which translates into Rs 252 crore for 14 teams.
Thus, for 10 years, franchises will be shelling out Rs 2,520 crore largely on players and coaching support staff’s salaries. The expenditure also includes grants for grassroot development of the sport through their hockey academies.
Thus, considering HI’s contribution of Rs 1,120 crore and franchises’ spending of Rs 2,520 crore, HIL will boast of a total investment purse of Rs 3,640 crore.
Earlier, HO: wasn't limited to just two venues. But HI president Dilip Tirkey clarified that it has been done to reduce the travel and reservation cost of home and away matches. Additionally, the venues have been chosen keeping in mind the popularity of hockey in that place.
The inaugural women's event
From 2013 to 2017, the women's version of the Hockey Premier League wasn't available. For the first time, female hockey players in India will have a dedicated platform to showcase their skills on a large scale.
The women's team has been an absolute spectacle in the Tokyo Olympics. Savita Punia was no short in fame when compared to PR Sreejesh in terms of skill. The windy Vandana Kataria, hopefully, won't be a name to those fans, but in all households.
It's not about promoting gender equality in a sport when a section of it is yet to rise its head in India. It's more about breaking taboos about women wearing skirts, like what Rani Rampal faced in her childhood. It is more about providing a well-structured hockey stick to the budding players instead of a mere bamboo stick!
Drawbacks that got corrected
The 2013–2017 version of the Hockey Indian League had its financial drawbacks. But other than that, it had clashes of schedule,
A league that could have been as big as a festival, to the fans, couldn't manage to get an uninterrupted vacant place in the FIH calendar. The Hockey Pro League came into being, which ate up whatever space was remaining.
However, this year, President Tirkey and Secretary Bhola Nath Singh have assured that such disruptions won't happen from now on. Both have revealed that the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has granted the window from December 28 to February 5 for the next 10 years.
HIL winners till 2017
2013- Ranchi Rhinos
2014- Delhi Waveriders
2015- Ranchi Rays
2016- Punjab Warriors
2017: Kalinga Lancers
Game recognizes Game
Sreejesh named Director of Hockey in Delhi franchise for upcoming HIL-PTI
Athletes investing in franchises is not new. So does hockey. Mahesh Bhupathi, the Indian tennis legend, has invested in the Delhi SG Pipers franchise
Adding further excitement, former Indian hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who was freshly appointed as the coach for the junior hockey team, is now the mentor for the Delhi franchise.
Hockey Indian League: Opening new doors to talent
Say, for example, the Indian Premier League! It is a cash-rich league because of the unwavering fan support, definitely due to the monetization of the league.
But it has more efficacy due to its role in nurturing young talents. HIL is nothing short of that. The international players will not be just teammates but leaders and seniors whom the rookies will look up to.
This will increase the pace of the game, adding more skills and perfection to the drags and flicks.
An Indian fan probably won't be expecting some foul on the body to get a penalty corner so that some Amit Rohidas or Harmanpreet Singh convert it into a goal. A basic wish to see a ball in play before hitting the net, just as Australians do, will be fulfilled hopefully.
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