PR Sreejesh admits there are still areas to improve after series whitewash against the Kiwis

PR Sreejesh admits there are still areas to improve after series whitewash against the Kiwis

no photo

PR Sreejesh claims that although his side should be proud of their performance in the series whitewash against the Kiwis, there were still areas to improve upon ahead of the Asian Games. Sreejesh added that his team was focused on scoring goals during the game in order to avoid a shootout scenario.

The Indian hockey team completed an impressive whitewash against their New Zealand counterparts after the hosts thrashed the visitors 4-0 in the last of the three-match series on Sunday. Their next test lies in Indonesia where they will go up against the best Asian teams at the 2018 Asian Games next month. But Indian skipper PR Sreejesh was quick to point out that even though the home team was dominant against the Kiwis, there was still room for improvement in the team.

“We wanted to get into a winning habit ahead of the Asian Games (beginning next month). But even though we have won the tournament, there are areas in which we should improve,” Sreejesh told scroll.in during a recent interview.

Long-serving Indian custodian, Sreejesh, did not divulge all the “areas” to improve lest their Asian opponents take advantage of them. But an obvious area of concern was the poor conversion rate of penalty-corners by the men in blue.

“Yes, we got a lot of penalty corners that we weren’t able to convert. We have got four of the best drag-flickers in the world, so we want to change this. Maybe try out variations so that we can get better conversion rates,” Sreejesh added.

The Indian captain has been known for his loud presence on the field and is often seen shouting instructions to his teammates, sometimes even from the sidelines when subbed off the pitch. Sreejesh also revealed that he always thought of himself as ‘a coach on the field’.

“When you are the goalkeeper, you get a better view of things. I just organise my defence and plan out the counterattacks. Goalkeeper is going to be away from the game. There are a lot of things to distract you. So, it’s important to communicate with the team, be in the game so that even if there’s one goal threat, you need to save it. I need to switch on myself, so the more I communicate, the more I am in the game,” Sreejesh added.

Get updates! Follow us on

Open all