All posts tagged: PR Sreejesh

Frederic Soyez to lead India junior men’s hockey team

Frederic Soyez to lead India junior men’s hockey team

Published by Webster

Hockey India on Thursday announced the appointment of decorated Frenchman Frederic Soyez as the Coach of the Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team, reinforcing its long-term vision of building a sustainable high-performance ecosystem aligned with India’s ambitions for the 2036 Olympic Games. One of the most accomplished coaches in European hockey, Soyez brings over three decades of elite hockey experience, including 15 years as an international player for France and over 15 years as a Head Coach at the highest level of world hockey. Soyez, who enjoyed an illustrious playing career with France from 1995 to 2010, earning 196 international caps and scoring an impressive 195 goals for the team, coached the national men’s hockey teams of both France and Spain. He boasts experience at three Olympic Games, having guided Spain at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics before leading France at the Paris 2024 Olympics. During his tenure with Spain, he guided the team to a Silver Medal at the 2019 European Championships, while also steering them to quarterfinal finishes at the Rio and …

PR Sreejesh questions Hockey India’s preference for a foreign coach

PR Sreejesh questions Hockey India’s preference for a foreign coach

Published by Webster

Two-time Olympic bronze medalist PR Sreejesh took to social media on Wednesday to question Hockey India’s preference for a foreign coach for the Indian junior men’s hockey team. Sreejesh was appointed as the junior team’s head coach in August 2024, immediately after the leading goalkeeper announced retirement after winning a bronze at the Paris Olympics. His term has now come to an end. “It seems like my coaching career comes to an end after 1.5 years, during which we played 5 tournaments and secured 5 podium finishes, including a Junior World Cup bronze medal,” PR Sreejesh wrote on social media on Wednesday. “I have heard about coaches getting fired after bad performances. But this is the first time I am experiencing being removed to make way for a foreign coach,” he added. Under him, Team India secured a historic podium finish at the 2025 FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup. The team was trailing 0-2 and came back to win 4-2 against Argentina in the bronze medal match. “The Hockey India President stated that the …

PR Sreejesh: ‘I need to start from scratch with next junior batch, that’s a big challenge’ | Hockey News

PR Sreejesh: ‘I need to start from scratch with next junior batch, that’s a big challenge’ | Hockey News

Published by Webster

It has been just over a week since India won the bronze medal at the FIH Junior World Cup in Chennai, and PR Sreejesh has already taken off his head coach’s hat and put on the administrator’s one, that of Team Director with Hockey India League (HIL) franchise SG Pipers. In just over a year since retiring from international hockey, Sreejesh has had to learn to shuttle between these dual roles. As was sometimes seen during the Junior World Cup, it meant enduring periods of frustration when he came to terms with the fact that he can’t actually influence proceedings in the middle as much as he could while donning the gloves and pads, standing between the posts. There hasn’t been time to shut down and recharge, so much so that on the day after the World Cup got over, he was already doing an assessment for the next batch. Has this been more hectic than his playing days? “I don’t know, but I am enjoying it so far. Actually, I was ready for it; …

Despite falling short of final, PR Sreejesh impresses in first big assignment as head coach

Despite falling short of final, PR Sreejesh impresses in first big assignment as head coach

Published by Webster

In Chennai, he took up various spots – atop a building terrace just behind the corner flag and on the second tier of the centenary stands. In Madurai, at a newly set-up international venue, he found a spot right behind the goal on a broadcast tower and shifted later to the side view once rain relented. Over the course of India’s six matches at the FIH Junior World Cup, PR Sreejesh – trading gloves and goalkeeping pads for headsets and writing pads as head coach – found various vantage points beyond the dugout. As he put it after guiding his wards to a bronze medal on Wednesday: “I need my experience, I am collecting it.” After a roller-coaster campaign, it’s easy to forget that just over 15 months ago, Sreejesh was being carried around the turf in Paris after India won back-to-back Olympic bronze medals. He was made the head coach of the junior team almost immediately after he called time on his playing career; there was no break to refresh and recharge, soaking in …

Individuals over team: How India’s Junior hockey World Cup hopes ended tamely and brutally exposed frailties | Hockey News

Individuals over team: How India’s Junior hockey World Cup hopes ended tamely and brutally exposed frailties | Hockey News

Published by Webster

In his post-match analysis after the 5-1 win against India at the FIH Junior World Cup in Chennai on Sunday, German coach Mirko Stenzel was full of praise for his side’s defence throughout the night and the intensity in the first quarter, more than the attacking unit that pumped in the five goals. But one line of his post-match analysis stood out: “To beat the individual-skilled players from India the way we did is incredibly hard.” It was evidently meant as a compliment to India’s style of hockey, but it also gave a glimpse into why Germany were able to thwart the hosts’ attacking forays on the night effectively. Just by blocking of passing lines and staying within their structures, Germany barely allowed India to have any attacking joy. When the scoreline reads 1-5 in favour of the opposition, it’s easy to think that the defence had a nightmare outing – and to an extent, that was true as PR Sreejesh said later that the silly mistakes proved costly. But India’s problems were compounded by …

India falls to Germany, third straight last-four exit against European giants

India falls to Germany, third straight last-four exit against European giants

Published by Webster

India’s hopes of reaching the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup final were dashed on Sunday as defending champions Germany registered a 5–1 win in the semifinal in Chennai. Anmol Ekka scored India’s only goal in the 51st minute, while Germany capitalised on their control and efficiency through strikes from Lukas Kossel, Titus Wex, Jonas von Gersum and Ben Hasbach. Germany set the tone early with an aggressive press that pushed India deep into their own half. Goalkeeper Princedeep Singh produced a crucial save in the third minute to deny Justus Warweg, but sustained pressure eventually told. In the 14th minute, a penalty stroke awarded for a body obstruction inside the circle was converted by Kossel. Moments later, an unfortunate deflection off Sunil Palakshappa Bennur turned Wex’s pass into Germany’s second to close the opening quarter at 2–0. Germany maintain control as India struggle to convert chances India improved in the second quarter, controlling possession and generating circle entries, but could not test German goalkeeper Jasper Ditzer. Germany, however, doubled their advantage just before halftime …

India takes on Germany in semifinal- Blogs, updates

India takes on Germany in semifinal- Blogs, updates

Published by Webster

India’s inspired run at the FIH Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup meets a formidable challenge on Sunday when the hosts take on seven-time champions Germany in the semifinals in Chennai. PR Sreejesh’s squad enters the contest buoyed by a tense quarterfinal victory over Belgium, secured through a shootout after a late equaliser pushed the match into a pressure-filled finish. Germany arrives with similar battle-hardening, having edged France in a tight tiebreaker. Their squad combines structure, pace and technical precision, attributes that have defined their consistent success at this level. The hosts will also need to cope with Germany’s multiple threats: goalkeeper Jasper Ditzer’s reliability, Paul Glander’s penalty-corner efficiency, and the speed of Alec Von Schwerin and Ferdinand Steinebach. While Germany holds the historical edge, India carries the lift of home support and the composure gained from surviving a high-pressure quarterfinal. LIVE UPDATES: Disclaimer: We do not own any of the content, ideas, images, or text presented here. All rights belong to their respective owners. For more information and to view the original source, please visit …

The Prince in No. 16: Young goalkeeper channels coach and idol Sreejesh’s spirit as India enter Junior World Cup semifinals | Hockey News

The Prince in No. 16: Young goalkeeper channels coach and idol Sreejesh’s spirit as India enter Junior World Cup semifinals | Hockey News

Published by Webster

Princedeep Singh grew up wanting to be like PR Sreejesh. So much so that the rookie goalkeeper even got the legendary Indian custodian’s jersey number — 16 — on his back. And now, in the team coached by Sreejesh, Princedeep has emerged as a standout performer. On Friday, the 21-year-old goalkeeper shot himself into the limelight with a sensational display in the tie-breaker as India defeated Belgium in a thrilling quarterfinal of the FIH Junior World Cup in Chennai. The number 16, made famous by Sreejesh, has a special place even for Princedeep. “I started playing Hockey around 2015 in Chima Academy in Batala and I actually played full-back for a year. At the same time, I also used to play football during the weekends, and I was good at goalkeeping because of my height, which is how my interest developed. Then I took up hockey goalkeeping in 2016,” Princedeep tells The Indian Express. “At that time, I used to watch the Indian team at the 2016 Olympic Games and I wanted to be like …

Junior Hockey World Cup: India come through emotional rollercoaster against Belgium to reach semifinals | Hockey News

Junior Hockey World Cup: India come through emotional rollercoaster against Belgium to reach semifinals | Hockey News

Published by Webster

After going three league matches without conceding a goal at the FIH Junior World Cup, it didn’t take long for India to realise the enormity of the challenge that awaited them against Belgium in the quarterfinals. In the very first minute, Princedeep Singh was called into action as Marin van Heel was found on the edge of the circle with space to work with, and a powerful shot had to be palmed away by the No.16 high to his left. In the end, it was the young goalkeeper, inspired by another No.16 in PR Sreejesh to take up goalkeeping, who had the final say on a night of incredible drama. Belgium took the lead, India hit back twice to lift the roof at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, before the Europeans equalised in the final minute to force a shootout at 2-2. India then prevailed in a rather extraordinary tiebreaker to reach the semifinals, where they will face Germany on Sunday. Before the match, Sreejesh’s advice to his wards was simple: enjoy the pressure, and remember …

FIH Men’s Junior World Cup: After sailing through group phase, India face tough test against Belgium in knockout quarterfinal | Hockey News

FIH Men’s Junior World Cup: After sailing through group phase, India face tough test against Belgium in knockout quarterfinal | Hockey News

Published by Webster

It’s fairly common to see a hockey team take off its goalkeeper when chasing a match, fielding 11 outfield players and going on an all-out attack. But what happened in Madurai on Tuesday at the FIH Men’s Junior World Cup was rather extraordinary. In their last Pool D match against Egypt, when leading 1-0 after the first quarter, Belgium decided to take their goalkeeper Alexis van Havere off. Egypt nearly scored immediately with an aerial into the circle before being thwarted by a desperate goal-line clearance by a defender. Still, Belgium’s situation was such that they simply had to take that risk and not worry about the downsides. The only way Belgium could reach the quarterfinals was to beat Egypt by a massive margin to sneak in as the second-best second-placed team across the six pools. The Young Red Lions, who had lost 0-2 against Spain to find themselves in a precarious situation, beat Egypt 10-0, which meant the other contenders had too much to do to make up the goal difference. That’s the sort …