P. R. Sreejesh Wiki, Height, Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

P. R. Sreejesh is an Indian professional hockey player. P. R. Sreejesh is known for his goalkeeping skills and has been honoured with the prestigious awards: Arjuna Award 2013 and Padma Shri 2017.

Wiki/Biography

P. R. Sreejesh is also known as Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh was born on Sunday, 8 May 1988 (age 33 years; as of 2021) in Kizhakkambalam, a small village, in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, India. His zodiac sign is Taurus. Sreejesh attended St. Antony’s Lower Primary School, Kizhakkambalam for his primary education. Later, he was enrolled at St. Joseph High School, Kizhakkambalam to pursue his secondary education there. Sreejesh was fond of playing sports since childhood. He played several sports including long jump and volleyball and was also a trained sprinter. At the age of 12, Sreejesh was enrolled at the GV Raja Sports School, in Thiruvananthapuram to train professionally in sports. After completing his primary and secondary education, P. R. Sreejesh took admission at the Sree Narayana College, Kollam, Kerala to earn a graduate degree in History.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 6′

Weight (approx.): 90 kg

Eye Colour: Black

Hair Colour: Black

Tattoo

P. R. Sreejesh has a tribal tattoo inked on his right shoulder which is expanded up to his arm. A tribal tattoo symbolizes protection, power, and strength.

Family

Parents & Siblings

P. R. Sreejesh was born to P. V. Raveendran and Usha. Sreejesh’s father, P. V. Raveendran, is a farmer. His mother, Usha, is a homemaker.

P. R. Sreejesh has a brother Sreejith Parattu Raveendran. Sreejith works as a real estate agent.

Wife & Children

P. R. Sreejesh got married to Aneeshya, a former long jumper, and an Ayurveda doctor on 12 May 2013. His wifewas his crush since eighth standard. The couple was blessed with their first child as a baby girl in 2014, whom they named Anusree. Sreejesh and Aneeshya welcomed their second child Sreeansh in 2017.

Career

During his childhood, P. R. Sreejesh was fond of playing sports whether it be long jump, volleyball, or sprinting. When he was 12 his parents enrolled him at GV Raja Sports School in Thiruvananthapuram, a school where Sreejesh could get more exposure to sports. Sreejesh’s couch at GV Raja Sports School suggested him to take up hockey as his professional sport but Sreejesh was not impressed with his idea then. Talking about choosing hockey, P. R. Sreejesh, in an interview, said,

Hockey was the last resort. Growing up, I was on the heavier side. I had tried shot put but I didn’t have the power. I didn’t have the athleticism to be good in basketball and volleyball, but being a hockey goalkeeper suited my physique. Surprisingly, I was rather good at it.”

After trying his hand in a number of sports, P. R. Sreejesh opted for hockey when the hockey coach at the sports school, Jayakumar, choose him to play in the school team as the goalkeeper for hockey team. After that, Sreejesh played in several interschool and state-level tournaments. P. R. Sreejesh’s first major tournament that he played was the Nehru Cup. P. R. Sreejesh made it to the Junior national team in 2004 and played his first match against Australia held in Perth. In 2006, Sreejesh became part of the senior national team playing his debut match at the 2006 South Asian Games in Colombo. During the initial phase of his career, Sreejesh was not that good with his performance on field and was usually selected as substitute player for the team. P. R. Sreejesh first came into the limelight after he made an historic defence of a penalty stroke against Pakistan in the 2011 Asian Champions Trophy Final. Sharing his experience on playing against Pakistan, Sreejesh said

Playing against Pakistan automatically motivates our team to perform well. I knew i had to concentrate hard — when the penalty shoot-out was on, i was confident of my job. I wasn’t nervous. I was confident that i could see India through. Moreover, during team meetings, we’d gone through Pakistan’s match footage. After studying their tactics, i knew what they were going to come up with.

P. R. Sreejesh made a major role in making India win at the Asia Cup of 2013. His goalkeeping skills also earned him the title of “Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament’” 2013 Asia Cup, Malaysia. In 2014, Sreejesh’s presence of mind and activeness  in the field helped Indian hockey team to earn gold medal in 2014 Asian Games. Sreejesh was honored with the “Goalkeeper of the Tournament” 2014 Champions Trophy, India after the tournament.

On 13th July 2016, P. R. Sreejesh was appointed as the captain of the Indian Hockey Team. India played several international tournaments including 2016 Rio Olympics under his leadership. The Indian team made it to the quatar fials of the tournament at the 2016 Rio Olympics, which was a great achievement for the Indian hockey team.

P. R. Sreejesh also played a long career as a club player. He was bought by Mumbai Magicians for a US$38,000 and played for Mumbai Magicians from 2013 to 2015 in Hockey India League matches. Next, he played for UP Wizards for US$69,000 in 2015. He shares his Hockey India League experience as

You will not find such fame, money and exposure anywhere else. Today, it is the dream of every hockey player to play in HIL and has changed the framework of hockey in the entire country. Since 2010, there isn’t a single national level player who is struggling to make ends meet on the streets. It isn’t just about lifestyle and glamour, but about a sense of pride and identity as a respectable hockey player that it cultivates in players.

In 2018, he again proved his efficiency on the field by directing India to a silver medal in Breda Champions Trophy and a bronze medal in the Jakarta Asian Games.

In 2021, after a wait of 41 years, Indian hockey team won a medal at the Olympics event beating the German team with a score of 5-4. With just seconds left for the game to end, Germany were awarded a penalty corner. P. R. Sreejesh, though, repelled the ball away from the goal as Indian players fell to the ground in pure joy, finally ending the long wait for a hockey medal at the Olympics. P. R. Sreejesh used each bit of his goalkeeping skills and experience to help India win the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and made whole India proud. Sreejesh posted a picture on his social media account biting his medal and captioned

eah ….. it’s taste salty, Yeah …. I remember, it’s my sweat 😓 from last 21 years.”

Awards

• 2008: Junior Asia Cup, ‘Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament
• 2013: Asia Cup Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament
• 2015: Arjuna Award
• 2017: Padma Shri

Controversy

While returning from Malaysia after winning the Asian Champions Trophy 2016, P. R. Sreejesh was charged an extra Rs 1500 by the AirAsia for carrying his equipment bag that was not even over the stipulated weight limit. “Extra charges for the sports equipment bag which come below 15 kg?? Are they expecting me to carry make up kit ??.. funny concept @Air Asia,” Sreejesh tweeted with the screenshot of the penalty receipt.

Favourites

• Hockey Player(s): Adrian Albert D’souza, Baljit Dadwal

• Cuisine: South Indian

• Food: Sambar Rice

• Beverage: Filter Coffee

• Movie: Iqbal

• Sports person: Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra singh Dhoni , and Dhanraj Pillay

• Movie dialogue: Rajini sir (Rajinikanth)’s line from Baasha, “Naan oru darava sonna adhu nooru darava sollara maadari” (If I say something once, it is like saying it a 100 times).

Facts/Trivia

• P. R. Sreejesh loves spending his leisure time reading books and he has a great collection of novels.
  

  P. R. Sreejesh reading a book

• P. R. Sreejesh during an interview shared that his father sold their cow to buy him hockey equipments.

• A road in Sreejesh’s town is named after him so as to honour him for his contribution for the Indian Hockey.
  

  P. R. Sreejesh standing under the signboard mentioning a route with his name

• Sreejesh has walked the runway for many renowned designers of India.
  

  P. R. Sreejesh walking down the runway

• P. R. Sreejesh is a nature lover and often seen planting trees around his residence.
  

  P. R. Sreejesh planting a tree