New Delhi: With PR Sreejesh getting a befitting send-off in the form of another bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, the goalpost in the Indian defence court has been vacated. However, the selectors won’t have any headache to find the replacement of ‘Great Wall of India’.
In Punjab’s Krishan Bahadur Pathak, the country has a controllable and reliable goalkeeper. The 27-year-old made his international debut in 2018 and has 125 caps with the Indian team till date. Under Graham Reid’s watch from 2019 to 2023, India witnessed alternate goalkeepers for alternate quarters. It was Sreesjesh and Pathak sharing the duties for two quarters each.
Pathak has the experience of playing in big tournaments such as World Cups, Asian Champions Trophy and Asian Games. Netherlands-based Dennis van de Pol, who is India’s goalkeeping consultant, has given the nod for Pathak to take over the guard in the goalpost.
“Now is Pathak’s time. He has already shown that he can be on Sreejesh’s level. During the 2023 World Cup it didn’t matter whether we put Pathak or Sreejesh in the goal as both played equally well,” van de Pol told Hindustan Times.
“I am not at all worried. India’s level won’t go down in the goal. It will stay the same. Now that Pathak will get 100 percent trust of the coaches and the team, maybe he will perform even better. But we will get to know later because he has never been in this position (as No.1),” he added.
Krishan also knows now its his time
Krishan has featured in every major tournament except the Olympics. Unlike other events where 18 players are allowed in a squad, the Olympics truncates the permissible members to 16. This means each team usually opts for a a solitary goalkeeper. And in India’s case, Sreejesh got the nod above Pathak and other youngster Suraj Karkera.
Krishan went to India’s both bronze-medal-winning campaigns in Tokyo and Paris but only as a standby player and eventually returned without a medal.
“I had a good chat with him after the Olympics. It was of course a hard time for him, going to two Olympics and not getting any medal when the team is winning medals,” the Dutch specialist coach said.
“But he also knows now it is his time. He was the only keeper to do 50-50 time on the pitch with a guy like Sreejesh. No other goalkeeper in India has been at that level to compete with Sreejesh. That is really good for his future,” he added.
Van de Pol works with the Indian hockey team on project-to-project basis. He has been working on Indian goalkeepers since 2019 and was also in charge during their Asian Games gold last year.
For Krishan Bahadur Pathak, the first international assignment as India’s first-choice goalkeeper comes in the Asian Men’s Champions Trophy in Hulunbuir city in China from September 8 to 17.
The 27-year-old Krishan Bahadur Pathak made his international debut in 2018 and has 125 caps with the Indian team till date. Under Graham Reid’s watch from 2019 to 2023, India witnessed alternate goalkeepers for alternate quarters. It was Sreesjesh and Pathak sharing the duties for two quarters each. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
