Srijesh Prato Ravindran watches during the men’s quarter-final match between India and Great Britain at the Stade Yves du Manoir on day nine of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on August 04, 2024 in Paris, France. (Getty Images)
PR Sreejesh’s tenure as India’s junior men’s hockey coach has come to an end after 17 months, but his departure has now raised questions and various claims from both the former goalkeeper and Hockey India.Sreejesh’s contract came to an end after he led India to a bronze medal in the Junior World Cup held in Chennai and Madurai last year. He reapplied for the role, but Hockey India did not renew his contract.On Thursday, Hockey India officially appointed Frederick Suez as the new coach of the junior men’s team.The federation said there was nothing unusual about the decision and maintained that the process was carried out properly.However, Sreejesh took to social media to say that he was overlooked to make way for a foreign coach who was reportedly preferred by senior men’s coach Craig Fulton.There is reportedly a mixed reaction among the players on this matter.“Some of the players in the junior team were not happy with Sreejesh’s way of working, they could not reach him on phone when needed when the camps were not going on,” a source was quoted by news agency PTI.Hockey India president Dilip Turki said the decision is part of a long-term plan for India’s preparations for the 2036 Olympics.“We have not fired Sreejesh. His contract expired in December 2025 and we followed the prescribed process and advertised for the post. He also applied and the applicants were shortlisted and finalized as per a proper selection process based on merit,” Turki said.“We never wanted him to come out of the coaching programme, we offered him to lead the development programme, India A and beyond. Also we offered him to guide our goalkeepers at the national level with his vast experience, but he declined.“But the door is always open for him and other Indian coaches.”Sreejesh went directly from sports to coaching despite having no formal coaching experience at the time of his appointment.Having played under several foreign coaches during his career, including Roland Oltmans, Terry Walsh, Graham Reid and Craig Fulton, his criticism of Hockey India’s preference for foreign coaches has also drawn attention.Turki denied that Fulton had any role in the appointment process.“We never told them that the head coach of the men’s team preferred to appoint a foreign coach for the junior team. As a federation, we are collectively working towards our government’s vision to build a path towards 2036 and a big part of that process is promoting our Indian coaching talent.”Apart from coaching, Srijesh is also the mentor and director of Hockey India League franchise Delhi SG Pipers.
