India's legendary hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh will take up a new role as the coach of the junior national team after his retirement.

New Delhi: The 'Great Wall of Indian Hockey' PR Sreejesh will soon be seen in a new role after retiring from the game, with Hockey India announcing him as the coach of the junior national team.

The 36-year-old Sreejesh ended his brilliant goalkeeping career after India beat Spain in the bronze medal match on Thursday.

Sreejesh, whose illustrious 18-year career saw India win two Olympic bronze medals (2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris), is regarded as the best hockey goalkeeper the country has produced.

“Yes, we will appoint Sreejesh as the coach of the men's junior team (Under 21) in a few days. We have discussed it with him and there is no one better than him to guide and nurture the youngsters,” Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey told PTI from Paris.

“He has fantastic ability, which he showed against Britain in Paris. Not only this, he will also be mentoring the younger generation of goalkeepers,” Tirki added.

Hockey India wants Sreejesh to mentor the current senior team goalkeepers, Krishna Bahadur Pathak and Suraj Karkera, who will replace him in the team.

“We want Sreejesh to step in to guide Krishna and Sooraj. He has vast experience and knows the tricks of the trade,” added Tirkey.

Sreejesh will be key to India's success at the Men's Junior World Cup in India in December next year.

“Sreejesh is also very important for us to guide and inspire the team in next year's Junior World Cup as he has helped the junior team in the past as well,” Tirkey said.

Expressing his satisfaction with the Indian hockey team's performance in Paris, Tirkey said the team played as a cohesive unit.

“We repeated our (Tokyo 2021) performance even though we always aimed for the gold medal. But, bronze is as good as gold for me right now. The team played very well and there was unity among the players, which showed in the match against Britain,” he added.