Sreejesh P R

the launch of the Mathrubhoomi Football Special Edition. ⚽📖
A special moment shared with Sports Minister Janeesh Kumar and Deputy Speaker Shanimol Usman.

It’s seems like My coaching career comes to an end after 1.5 years, during which we played 5 tournaments and secured 5 podium finishes, including a Junior World Cup bronze medal.

I have heard about coaches getting fired after bad performances.
But this is the first time I am experiencing being removed to make way for a foreign coach.

The Hockey India President stated that the chief coach of the senior men’s team prefers a foreign head coach for the junior team, believing it will help develop Indian hockey from the junior level through to the senior level. Hence, the continued preference for foreign coaches —

Can’t Indian coaches develop Indian hockey?

On 07-03-2026, during a meeting with the Hon’ble Sports Minister Shri Mansukh Mandaviya, I was told, “Sreejesh, we need coaches like you to step up and lead our country as we prepare for 2036.”

However, Hockey India continues to place its trust in foreign coaches over Indian ones across all four teams.