P. R. Sreejesh

I like working out in the morning.

Normally, a goalkeeper has to be a perfect man. All my mistakes are visible so I have to keep my concentration all the time.

We are maintaining a 25-member squad for Rio Games so that has kept a healthy competition within the team. If there are any injuries, we have immediate replacements.

I know what was happening to me during the 2012 London Olympics. I was in a fantasy world. You look this side, Usain Bolt is walking, Serena Williams is sitting next to you and having food. So that is really a fantasy world for a youngster.

Psychology is not a place where you get results overnight.

It's going to be a long, tough journey to the Olympics.

In the Olympics we are facing the toughest opponents in the world so that shows that you do have the chance to beat any team at any given day.

If I've been disciplined through the week, on Sunday I treat myself to mutton biryani. I can have up to one kg of it for a meal.

Of course I catch up on the odd Malayalam and Tamil movie on streaming platforms once a while.

I've set myself a target of four books a month.

I was so hooked to 'The Da Vinci Code' that I jumped out of bed at 2 A. M., and could only go back to sleep after I'd finished the final few chapters.

Even when following a strict training regimen, you're allowed a couple of cheat meals.

I enjoy endurance training with 5 to 10-kilometre runs. Weight training comes a close second.

There is a lot of scope for improvement but as we enter the home stretch for the Olympic preparations, we know the biggest challenge for us is to remain consistent with our performances.

To build my core strength, I do push-ups, sit-ups, crunches, on-the-spot running with bands, and individual runs.

Now if I go back home with an Olympic medal, the reaction of my family will give me immense satisfaction.

Books changed my perception about the sacrifices we make as athletes.

It's important that I stay positive in my messages during matches because the rest of the team is following the tone and tension in my voice. Nothing in my voice should let them down.

No matter who the captain is, on the hockey pitch it's the goalkeeper who is leading the side because we have the best view of the field.

Our shoes weather a lot of blows and sometimes a wrong movement can cause them to come apart in half.

The vamp, or the front of our shoes has to be a bit hard for the extra support because often during a save, our toe can end up jutting outside our leg guard.

When I was young, I didn't know who India's goalkeeper was then.

I always believe in trying something extra-ordinary and fighting against myself, gives me the biggest confidence boost.

I had to teach myself to walk and run again during rehabilitation.

I am up for challenges.

I want to bring back that glory in our country because we are the Olympic champions. So I want to see that glory days back in India, hence I'm giving my hundred per cent to contribute my best.

One of my friends called me up and said kids in our village are playing hockey with PVC pipes. This is the change I wanted to see. Hopefully, we will be able to inspire the next generation.

People in my state, Kerala, have started playing hockey, which is very pleasing to see.

Today I am a hero because of the saves. But If I had failed in saving the goal-bound shots in the Asiad finals, I would have been called a traitor.

The quality of players at the domestic level is very low when they come to the Indian camp. From that level to reach the international level, they will have to do lot of hard work at the Indian camp.

Even one player's performance can affect the entire team.

You can't expect a coach to come in and just change everything overnight.

When you play big matches there is a lot of pressure.

You can't win tournaments just with youngsters. In important matches we need experience.

Defender Birendra Lakra, unfortunately, had to miss Rio Olympics due to injury, but we had ready replacements - Harmanpreet Singh and Surender Kumar. They did better because they got the exposure of playing ahead of Olympics. That's the magic of rotational system.

The captain is not in total command of the match. The man who is possessing the ball at a given time is the captain.

Hockey is not an individual game. It is rather a team game.

The multi-captaincy system helps me to concentrate and focus on my responsibility. In my case, I can concentrate on my goalkeeping, and others on their responsibilities allotted to them like scoring goals, defending and things like that.

The motto to work hard and get back that India jersey never died in me.

When I prepare for any tournament, I just feel that I want to give my best in the tournament as I may not get the next opportunity and I don't want to regret it after this tournament.

When you are with your team, you get the right motivation to work hard every day and get back to the field quickly.

I think it's important for me to share my experiences with the younger players and give them feedback on their performances.

I have a three-month-old daughter and I want to spend as much time with her as I can.

Being a father brings with it a lot of responsibilities, just like being a goalkeeper does.

Pakistan are definitely our main rivals. We do respect the players but on the field, we push ourselves even harder to get that win. I am sure they do the same against us. Victory against them has a special meaning.

A match against Pakistan is never an easy prospect - especially for goalkeepers in a penalty shootout. We can either become heroes or zeroes.

Your name never stands for anything, only performances do.

When you're in the hockey team, you're treated like a VIP. There are people around you looking after you, making sure you get 7-8 hours of undisturbed sleep every day.

When a player gets injured, all negative thoughts come in. Then you bump into people who have had that problem and they start telling you about how difficult it is and that doesn't help.

I had ACL, MCL, and meniscus injuries on my right knee.