Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh (born 8 May 1988) is an Indian

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

coach and former player. He was the captain of the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

and played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. Since 2024, he is the head coach of the India men's national U-21 team. He is also the coach of Delhi SG Pipers in

Hockey India League Hockey India League is a professional field hockey league in India. It is organized by Hockey India, the governing body for the sport in India. It is considered one of the major sports leagues of the country. It was founded in 2013 as a part ...

. He is regarded as one of the greatest goal keepers in the history of field hockey. Sreejesh played a vital role in the Indian national team's bronze medal wins at the

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

. He won the best male goalkeeper award at the

FIH Awards The FIH Awards are awarded annually by the International Hockey Federation to the male and female field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in s ...

in 2020, 2022, and 2024. He was part of the teams that clinched gold medals at the 2014 and 2022

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

, and secured a bronze medal at the 2018 edition. He also contributed to India's silver medal finishes at the 2014 and 2022

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

. In recognition of his contributions to Indian sports, he was awarded the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

, India's fourth-highest civilian honor in 2019, and the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

, India’s third-highest civilian honor in 2025.

Early life

Sreejesh was born 8 May 1988, in

Kizhakkambalam Kizhakkambalam is an eastern suburb of the city of Kochi in Ernakulam district, Kerala, India. It is regarded as a model panchayat for its various development activities and is a part of the Kunnathunad tehsil of the Ernakulam district. Demo ...

, a suburb of

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

in the state of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

, to P. V. Raveendran and Usha, a family of farmers. He completed his primary education in St. Antony's Lower Primary School in Kizhakkambalam and he studied until the sixth standard in St. Joseph's High School in Kizhakkambalam. His brother Sreejith lives in Canada. As a kid, he trained as a sprinter, before moving on to

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

. At 12, he joined the G. V. Raja Sports School in

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

. This was where his coach suggested that he take up goalkeeping. He became a professional after he was picked by hockey coach Jayakumar at the school, following which he played at the school before playing at the Nehru Cup. He completed his graduation in History from Sree Narayana College, Chempazhanthy,

Career

International career

Sreejesh made the Junior national team in 2004, in a match against Australia in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, in 2004. He made his debut in the senior national team in 2006, at the

South Asian Games The South Asian Games is a quadrennial multi-sport event held among athletes from South Asia. The South Asia Olympic Council, which was formed in 1983, governs it. The Games consist of seven countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, N ...

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

. Following India's win at the 2008 Junior Asia Cup, he was awarded the 'Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament'. Having been a part of the Indian team for six years, though often losing his place to senior goalkeepers,

Adrian D'Souza Adrian Albert D'souza (born 24 March 1984 in Mumbai, Maharashtra) is an Indian field hockey goalkeeper, who made his international debut for the men's national team in January 2004 during the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament in Kuala Lumpu ...

and

Bharat Chettri Bharat Kumar Chettri (born 15 December 1981 in Kalimpong, West Bengal) is an Indian field hockey player. He is the goalkeeper of the Indian hockey team. Career Chettri's professional career in field hockey began after he joined the Sports Aut ...

, he has been a regular member since 2011, after saving two penalty stroke in the Asian Champions Trophy Final in

Ordos City Ordos, also known as Ih Ju, is one of the twelve List of administrative divisions of Inner Mongolia, major subdivisions of Inner Mongolia, China. It lies within the Ordos Plateau of the Yellow River. Although mainly rural, Ordos is administered ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, against

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, a match-winning performance. His second 'Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament' award came at the 2013 Asia Cup, with India finishing second in the tournament. He was a part of the team that won silver medals at the Sreejesh had earlier played for India at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and then

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

in 2014. At the

2014 Asian Games The 2014 Asian Games (), officially known as the 17th Asian Games () and also known as Incheon 2014 (), were a pan-Asian multi-sport event held from 19 September to 4 October 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. On 17 April 2007, Incheon was awarded ...

Incheon Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, he starred in Indian's gold medal win, when he saved two penalty strokes against Pakistan in the final. At the 2014 Champions Trophy and

2018 Champions Trophy Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number) * One of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short story ''God's Dice'' * ''Eighteen'' (film), a 20 ...

, he was adjudged "Goalkeeper of the Tournament". Following impressive performances in 2014, he was nominated for the award of Best Male Goalkeeper; he eventually lost to Jaap Stockmann of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. He was the captain of the team that won the silver medal at the

2016 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy The 2016 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy was the 36th edition of the Hockey Champions Trophy for men. It was held between 10 and 17 June 2016 in London, United Kingdom. Australia won the tournament for a record fourteenth time after defeating India ...

held at London. On 13 Jul 2016, Sreejesh took over as captain of the Indian hockey team from Sardar Singh. At the

2016 Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

in Rio, Sreejesh led the Indian hockey team to the quarterfinals of the tournament . At the

Tokyo Olympics Tokyo Olympics may refer to: * 1940 Summer Olympics, Games of the XII Olympiad, cancelled due to World War II * 1964 Summer Olympics, Games of the XVIII Olympiad * 2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an ...

, on 5 August 2021, Sreejesh played a key role in defeating Germany to clinch the bronze medal for India, their first Olympic medal in hockey for 41 years. Sreejesh was a part of the team that won 2022 Commonwealth Games Silver, 2023 Asian Champion Trophy tite and

2022 Asian Games The 2022 Asian Games (), officially the 19th Asian Games () and also known as Hangzhou 2022 ( zh, c=, s=杭州2022, labels=no), were a continental multi-sport event which was held from 23 September to 8 October 2023 in Hangzhou, China. The ...

hockey Gold medal. He was also played a key role in India's bronze-medal winning journey at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. He retired from his international career post the Olympics games.

Club career

At the auction of the inaugural season of the

, Sreejesh was bought by the Mumbai franchise for 38,000. He played two seasons for their team,

Mumbai Magicians Mumbai Magicians was a professional field hockey team based in Mumbai, Maharashtra that played in the Hockey India League from 2012 to 2014. It was owned by Dabur India. Australian coach Ric Charlesworth was the head coach for the team. Franc ...

. In 2014, he was bought by

Uttar Pradesh Wizards The Uttar Pradesh Wizards was an Indian professional field hockey team based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh that played in the Hockey India League. It was owned by Sahara India. Franchise details Ownership The team was owned by Sahara Adventure Sp ...

for 69,000 and since the 2015 season, has been playing for them. PR Sreejesh became the second Indian to win the "World Athlete of the Year" after

Rani Rampal Rani Rampal (born 4 December 1994) is an Indian coach and former field hockey player. At the age of 15, she was the youngest in the national squad of the 2010 World Cup. She played as a forward. In her career, Rampal played 212 international ma ...

Personal life

Sreejesh married his longtime girlfriend Aneeshya, a former long jumper and an

Ayurveda Ayurveda (; ) is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. It is heavily practised throughout India and Nepal, where as much as 80% of the population report using ayurveda. The theory and practice of ayur ...

doctor. Their daughter Anusree was born in 2014. Their son Sreeansh was born in 2017. He is currently employed as a Joint Director with the

Government of Kerala The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who ...

's Department of General and Higher Education. Sreejesh is a member of Rotary Club of Kizhakkambalam, District 3201.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Sreejesh Ravindran
at

Hockey India Hockey India plans, directs and conducts all the activities for both men's and women's field hockey in India. It is recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India as the sole body responsible towards promoting the ...