Kamal Ghorui
Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran of looks on during the Men’s Quarter Final match between India and Great Britain on day nine of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade Yves Du Manoir on August 04, 2024 in Paris, France. (Getty Images)
P R Sreejesh’s stint as India junior men’s hockey coach has ended after 17 months, but his exit has now led to questions and differing claims from both the former goalkeeper and Hockey India.Sreejesh’s contract ended after he guided India to a bronze medal at 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 Frederic Soyez as the new junior men’s team coach.The federation said there was nothing unusual about the decision and maintained that the process was carried out properly.However, Sreejesh said on social media that he was ignored to make way for a foreign coach allegedly preferred by senior men’s coach Craig Fulton.The issue has also reportedly caused mixed reactions among players.“Some players of the junior team were not happy with Sreejesh’s working style, they couldn’t reach him when needed over phone when camps were not in progress,” a source was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey said the decision was part of a long-term plan linked to India’s preparations for the 2036 Olympics.“We have not fired Sreejesh. His contract expired in December 2025 and we followed the due process of and advertised for the position. He also applied and applicants were short-listed and finalised as per a proper selection process basis merit,” Tirkey said.“We never wanted him to come out of the coaching programme, we offered him to lead the developmental programme, India A and beyond that. Besides that we offered him to guide our goalkeepers at the national level with his vast experience, but he refused,” he added.“But the doors are always open for him and other Indian coaches.”Sreejesh moved directly from playing to coaching despite having no formal coaching experience at the time of his appointment.Having played under several foreign coaches during his career, including Roelant Oltmans, Terry Walsh, Graham Reid and Craig Fulton, his criticism of Hockey India’s preference for a foreign coach has also drawn attention.Tirkey denied that Fulton had any role in the appointment process.“We have never conveyed to him that the chief coach of the men’s team has given a preference to appoint a foreign coach for the junior side. As a federation, we are collectively working towards the vision of our government to build a pathway towards 2036 and a big part of that process is to develop our Indian coaching talent.”Apart from coaching, Sreejesh is also the mentor and director of Hockey India League franchise Delhi SG Pipers.
