New Delhi: At first he hated her – because she was better than him in school. But as is the case in Bollywood films, “hate” was followed by love. This is how the romance between PR Sreejesh and Aneeshya developed at the GVN Sports School in Kerala.
Eventually, the long jumper reciprocated her feelings and accepted the future national hockey goalkeeper as her soul mate.
Sreejesh, who retired from the national team after the Olympic Games in Paris, spoke about his love story in an interview with PTI Editors on Tuesday, and spoke candidly about how he fell in love with Aneeshya. He was already studying at the sports college in Kannur when Aneeshya was admitted in 2001.
“I was a smart student, top of the class. I was a superstar, the teacher’s favorite and loved by everyone. She came and suddenly I saw that she was better than me and had good grades in everything. I got between 35 and 42 out of 50 points, she got 49, just 50.
“So I started to hate her; we became enemies and that’s how it was before love blossomed,” he said.
Their love has lasted over two decades, more than ten of them as a married couple.
Anyone needing proof need only look at Sreejesh’s hockey stick at the Paris Olympics – her name was engraved on a personalised stick that the 36-year-old charismatic goalkeeper carried at the Games, where her phenomenal career spanning 336 international matches ended with a second consecutive bronze medal for India.
Aneeshya, now an Ayurvedic doctor, married Sreejesh in 2013 in an intimate temple ceremony attended only by close family and friends.
In a recent conversation with PTI Bhasha, she spoke about her mixed feelings about Sreejesh’s retirement from the national team. While she was happy to be able to spend more time with him at home, she said the sports fan in her will miss his towering presence in the Indian goal.
Sreejesh revealed that his main aim when he started playing hockey was to get a decent job, which was also crucial in convincing Aneeshya’s parents that he was a worthy opponent for her.
“…in Kerala, one has to be financially secure before approaching the girl’s father,” he said.
Needless to say, he won in life and managed to marry the girl he loved before becoming a living legend in the sport he chose to play – much like the fairytale romances that Bollywood churns out every two weeks.
“As a kid, I loved watching movies and love stories,” he says with a mischievous grin on his face, remembering the time when he started living in a sports dorm just so he could watch movies with his friends whenever he wanted.
“My intention was to go to the dorm, not to play sports,” he admitted.
“I don’t want my children to feel burdened by my inheritance”
Sreejesh and Aneeshya have two children – son Sreeansh and daughter Anusree. Their names are also engraved on hockey sticks that Sreejesh took turns using in the Olympics.
“They (the children) are like my eyes, you can’t have a favorite eye. But you only have one heart and that is for my wife,” he said.
“When playing games, I can alternate the sticks and try to use both sticks with my son and daughter’s names. My daughter likes pink while my son likes blue.
“But in gunfights you have no choice, you have to use a stick. It’s the same when you’re married, you have no choice,” he joked.
“You have to make sure everyone is happy.” Speaking of happiness, Sreejesh said he would never force his decisions on his children and would never want them to feel burdened by his rich legacy.
“My daughter said she likes swimming, so I sent her for swimming and after seeing (PV) Sindhu, she wanted to be a badminton player. I said you can easily take up badminton.”
“My son wanted to be Virat Kohli but now he doesn’t train at all. He said, ‘No dad, I can’t sweat’… If they want to learn something, I am more than happy because I don’t want my name to be a burden on their shoulders.
“In India, people tend to compare children with parents. I don’t want to do that,” said the man who was widely considered the heart of the Indian team.
Published August 14, 2024, 12:16 p.m. IS
