Kochi: Indian hockey team goalkeeper PR Sreejesh has announced that he will retire from international hockey competitions after the Paris Olympics. Sreejesh announced his retirement through X. Thank you for believing in me. Here ends a chapter. And the beginning of a new journey. Thank you to everyone who has supported me from the bottom of my heart as I stand on the threshold of my last step in international hockey,'' Sreejesh wrote at X.

Thirty-six-year-old Sreejesh's presence was crucial in lifting the Indian hockey team from the brink of collapse to victory. Sreejesh, who shone as the captain and goalkeeper of the Indian hockey team, led the Indian team in the 2016 Rio Olympics. He was also the driving force behind India's bronze medal win at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Sreejesh also won gold for India in 2014 Asian Games and 2022 Asian Games. In 2004, Sreejesh joined India's junior team against Australia. He made his debut in the senior team at the 2006 SAFF Games held in Colombo.

Sreejesh, who was selected as the best goalkeeper in the 2014 and 2018 Champions Trophy, became the captain who won the silver medal for the team in the 2016 Champions Trophy. In the 2016 Rio Olympics, led by Sreejesh, India could not make it to the quarterfinals, but it was due to Sreejesh's excellence that India won the bronze medal in 2020. His wife is long jump star and Ayurvedic doctor Anisya.

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