By Forrest Crellin

PARIS (Reuters) – Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh always knew that the Paris Olympics would be his last major tournament and a final chance to win Olympic gold after a glittering 18-year career.

India ended a 41-year medal drought in men’s Olympic hockey with a bronze medal in Tokyo three years ago, and its experienced team will now look to its trusty goalkeeper for inspiration to win an elusive ninth gold medal.

A crowd favourite, Sreejesh was constantly smiling at fans leaning over the barrier and shouting his name as he walked to the dressing room following a narrow 2-1 loss to reigning champions Belgium on Thursday.

“It’s a frustrating situation for a goalkeeper after conceding a goal. But what happens next is more important because what has happened cannot be changed. And what will happen is now in your hands,” Sreejesh told Reuters.

He put his skills on full display when he fended off a Belgian attack that dismantled the third-placed Australian team under floodlights at the Yves du Manoir stadium north of the capital.

India have conceded just five goals in four matches, with the other teams having a total of 52 shots on them, giving Sreejesh a save rate of over 90% in the tournament.

Sreejesh, on the other hand, is trying to approach his fourth and final Olympic Games game by game.

“I’m just doing my normal program,” he said. “I never change anything, but it’s a little emotional because you know you only have eight games in these Olympics, and four of them are over now, and four more remain.”

Sreejesh is confident that India can go far in the tournament with one final Group B match against Australia on Friday.

“This day is important because, as you can see today, we put Belgium under enough pressure. We put in a very good performance against them,” he said.

Sreejesh was awarded the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in 2021 and is only the second athlete from India to be awarded the World Games Athlete of the Year award for his contribution to the team’s bronze medal run at the Tokyo Olympics.

He was also named Goalkeeper of the Year by the International Hockey Federation in 2021 and 2022.

(This story has been corrected to correct the spelling of Sreejesh throughout.)

(Reporting by Forrest Crellin, editing by Ed Osmond)