For Indian hockey, the retirement of PR Sreejesh has been as significant as winning an Olympic medal after 41 years. And being one of the best goalkeepers the game has seen,  the legacy that Sreejesh leaves behind sets the bar on which those after him will be judged. 

It’s been a year since Sreejesh retired after the Paris Olympics, which made Krishan Bahadur Pathak as India’s senior goalkeeper with Suraj Karkera becoming his deputy. But the debacle in the European leg of the Pro League earlier this year, where India lost seven out of eight matches, has tightened the scrutiny on India’s goalkeeping.

To add to this, at the ongoing Asia Cup in Rajgir, India’s goalkeeping has come under the spotlight again. To the dismay of many, senior custodian Pathak hasn’t lived up to expectations in the five matches India have played so far here, and Karkera’s superior show reflects, both on the field and in numbers.