Eyebrows Raised Over Sreejesh’s New Role as Indian Junior Team Chief Coach

PR Sreejesh has always been the champion goalkeeper for the Indian men’s hockey team – his contributions to the team as a goalkeeper and senior team member over the last decade or so have been a big factor in driving Indian hockey forward. Sreejesh must be right up on the popularity scale, – he makes people sit up and take notice of goalkeeping prowess. However, his appointment as a chief coach of the Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team has created a feeling of ‘have we got carried away’ by the ‘celebrations wave’ following our second consecutive Olympic bronze medal at Paris.

Former India junior team coach and vastly experienced Mumbai hockey coach Mukul Pandey feels that the decision wasn’t a prudent one given that handling the national junior men’s hockey team mandates a certain degree of technical qualifications. “Sreejesh has been a great servant of Indian hockey and he deserves all the plaudits for helping India bag back-to-back Olympic medals. I’m little surprised with the move as a chief coach needs to be technically qualified. He is a goalkeeper and having an on- field player would have been a huge advantage. Top hockey coaches are all technically qualified and they all have to go through the various levels of FIH coaching qualifications – the topmost being a level 4 coach, after which you become an instructor for conducting courses and teaching,” says Pandey, who was the coach of the Maratha Warriors in the Premier Hockey League in a chat with Hockey Passion.

Pandey, a former centre-forward-turned centre-half, who had played for Punjab Sports Club in the seventies alongside Olympians Joaquim Carvalho and Marcellus Gomes, believes ‘playing accomplishments’ must not be mixed while hiring national team coaches. “I don’t wish to take anything away from Sreejesh – he has been superb for India in the deep defence. It is important to understand that just being an Olympian or an Olympic medallist should not qualify as a chief coach role, especially since it involves coaching the national junior men’s team,” Pandey points out.

A supremely fit hockey coach in his late sixties, Pandey, who had also represented Mumbai in Senior Nationals on several occasions, reckons it is crucial to have adequately qualified coaches for the national junior men’s team. “Look, junior players need great attention and education, which is possible only if one is technically sound. Let’s not forget that the juniors are the future of the senior team and need proper guidance skill-wise as well as technique wise so that when they graduate from juniors to seniors they are ready to face stiffer and more difficult competition.”

The seasoned domestic hockey coach says the move to appoint Sreejesh as Indian junior men’s team coach can be discouraging for coaches, who are doing coaching certifications and awaiting an opportunity to coach the national teams. “There are many coaches, who have passed the level 3 exams with coaching experience at club and national levels, who eagerly wait for opportunities to coach the national teams. These folks deserve a chance to prove themselves and the move to appoint Sreejesh as a junior men’s team coach can be disheartening for these coaches,” Pandey makes his point.

Former FIH President and Hockey India President Narinder Batra without getting into ‘name calling’ has also insinuated that Sreejesh’s appointment as chief coach of the Indian Junior Men’s Team may have been a hastily-taken decision. “I have utmost respect for retiring athletes, but they should not be made in-charge coaches immediately on retirement and be allowed to grow up the ladder,” he says in a Facebook post.