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Updated August 11th, 2021 at 22:58 IST

Olympian PR Sreejesh awarded Rs 2 cr cash prize, job promotion by Kerala govt

Kerala govt declared Rs 2 cr reward & a job promotion for PR Sreejesh, the goalkeeper of the Indian men’s hockey team that won a bronze medal at Tokyo Olympics.

Kerala
Image Credit: PTI | Image:self
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On Wednesday, the Kerala state government has announced a Rs 2 crore reward and a job promotion for PR Sreejesh, the goalkeeper of the Indian men’s hockey team that won a historic bronze medal at the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics 2020.  The Kerala government has decided to promote Sreejesh, currently Deputy Director (Sports) in the Public Education Department, to Joint Director (Sports). In a meeting, the Pinarayi Vijayan led-government also announced to grant Rs 5 lakh each to eight athletes from Kerala who took part in the Olympics representing India. 

When different state governments had declared crores in cash prizes to the medal winners even before they had placed a foot in Tokyo, the Kerala government's stillness had been questioned by many. The Opposition had even raised the matter in the State assembly.

May this Olympic bronze medal be an Onam gift For Malayalees: Sreejesh

On the other hand, goalkeeper Sreejesh said that the Olympic bronze medal win will be an Onam gift for Malayalis. "This is a long-awaited medal. May this be a good Onam gift for Malayalis," the 35-year-old goalkeeper said following his return. The athlete also said that the bronze medal win at the Tokyo Olympics can be viewed as the "rebirth of Indian hockey." PR Sreejesh received a warm welcome at the Cochin International Airport on Tuesday evening following his return from Tokyo.

Where does Indian Hockey stand now? 

Following their historic performance at the Tokyo Olympics, the Indian men's and women's hockey teams each advanced one spot to earn their highest-ever world rankings, at number 3 and 8, respectively. The Indian men's team was ranked third, behind gold medalist Belgium and silver medalist Australia, after ending a 41-year medal drought at the Olympics with a historic bronze.

Manpreet and his teammates finished second in Pool A, winning four of their five group matches and defeating Great Britain 3-1 in the quarterfinals before falling to Belgium 2-5 in the historic semifinal. However, they staged a miraculous comeback to defeat Germany 5-4 to earn a historic bronze medal at the Olympic Games, and as a result, they soared to their highest-ever world ranking.

In March of last year, the men's team was ranked No. 4 in the world after dominating the first three rounds of the second season of the FIH Hockey Pro League. On the other hand, the women's team had already achieved their greatest world ranking of 9th, which they earned by accomplishing their best finish (Quarter-Finals) at the 2018 World Cup in London. The women's team became the top-ranked Asian team after reaching the World Cup quarterfinals and went on to win silver at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.

Image Credit: PTI

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Published August 11th, 2021 at 22:58 IST

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