PR Sreejesh has been a towering personality in the Indian Hockey Team for a lot of years and has been one of the building blocks of the victorious Indian Hockey Team that won consecutive medals at the Olympics for the first time since 1972 Munich Olympics.
India defeated Germany in the bronze medal match 5-4 in Tokyo Olympics 2020 and then defeated Spain 2-1 in the bronze medal match of Paris Olympics 2024 to win back-to-back medals for the first time since 1968 Mexico City and 1972 Munich Olympics.
PR Sreejesh was an important cog in the wheels of the Indian team and was labelled as the “Wall of Indian Hockey”. He represented India in 336 international matches and hung up the boots after the Paris Olympics 2024 successful campaign.
His void definitely will be felt in the team and the next goalkeeper of India will have big shoes to fill in. But the Indian hockey circuit has witnessed a tremendous improvement and growth in the past few years and there is a younger crop that is gunning for an opportunity.
In this article, we take a look at 3 goalkeepers who can replace PR Sreejesh in the Indian Hockey Team:
1. Suraj Karkera
28-year-old Suraj Karkera has represented India in 41 matches and has won the bronze medal in the 2021 Asian Champions Trophy in Dhaka and the 2016-17 Bhubaneshwar Hockey World League.
The custodian from Mumbai has also been a part of the 2017 Dhaka Gold Medal-winning Asia Cup team of India and the 2022 Jakarta Bronze Medal-winning Asia Cup side of India. Suraj Karkera.
He has previously been the first-choice keeper on many tournaments for India when PR Sreejesh was given a break or was injured.
2. Krishan Bahadur Pathak
Having represented India in 125 matches, Krishan Bahadur Pathak brings with himself a wealth of experience in the international circuit. Most recently, Pathak helped India win the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games with some stellar goalkeeping.
He has also helped India win 2 Asian Champions Trophy titles; one in 2018 Muscat and one in 2023 Chennai. Pathak can be a good addition to the Indian hockey team and can conjure some magic after PR Sreejesh.
3. Vikas Dahiya
With 24 international caps under his belt, Vikas Dahiya can be a good-choice goalkeeping choice for India after the departure of PR Sreejesh. Dahiya has been in the mix for a considerable period of time can be a solid choice.
Dahiya has helped India win the silver medal at the 2016 Champions Trophy in London and the silver medal in the 2016 South Asian Games in Guwahati.
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