Kochi, Aug 12 (IANS): It was a surreal second for India’s illustrious males’s hockey star, goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh, when he shared the highlight with Manuel Frederick, the person who defended the goalpost on the 1972 Munich Olympics, when Team India returned house with a bronze medal.
The two goalkeepers from two totally different eras had been introduced collectively by the UAE-based NRI healthcare entrepreneur, Dr Shamsheer Valayeel, who had not too long ago introduced a money award of Rs 1 crore for Sreejesh. It was Frederick who introduced the cheque to Sreejesh, who stated it was a second that he would cherish endlessly.
Speaking on the occasion, Sreejesh, who has earned the moniker, The Great Wall of India, due to his efficiency on the Tokyo Olympics, remembered the time he was first knowledgeable about Dr Valayeel’s gesture.
“When I obtained the decision first, I used to be sure that it was a prank,” Sreejesh stated. “Later, Dr Shamsheer himself spoke to me and informed me that this prize was a small present from one brother to one other. For him, it could have been a small present, however for me, it was the largest present anybody was giving me. I really feel that choices like these are guided by a selfless curiosity in sports activities. And I’m positive that with this sort of encouragement, a golden interval for sports activities will not be far in Kerala’s future.” Dr Valayeel is the founder Chairman and Managing Director of the UAE-based VPS Healthcare.
Manuel, who flew down from Bengaluru to honour Sreejesh, was himself pleasantly shocked by Dr Valayeel. The healthcare entrepreneur introduced a cheque of Rs 10 lakh for the previous Olympian. It was in 1972 that Kerala obtained its first Olympic medal within the type of the bronze that the then Kannur resident introduced again house. History was repeated when Sreejesh, additionally within the aim, obtained a bronze as part of the Indian males’s hockey workforce in Tokyo.
Manuel was visibly elated when his contributions as a sportsperson had been acknowledged with a money prize on the felicitation perform for Sreejesh. An overwhelmed Manuel hugged Sreejesh and thanked him. “It is heartening to see that individuals like Dr Shamsheer are coming ahead at this time to recognise and encourage sportspersons. Gestures similar to these will certainly encourage Kerala’s subsequent era of sports activities stars,” Manuel stated.
Dr Valayeel, in a speech delivered just about, stated he hoped gestures of appreciation similar to his would appeal to youth to sports activities. “My hope is that kids will get impressed by seeing two generations of legendary sportsmen on the identical stage,” Dr Valayeel stated. “The earlier era’s exhausting work and achievements have offered a strong basis for at this time’s accomplishments. May these achievements which have renewed the curiosity in hockey deliver us extra laurels. And I hope that individuals like PR Sreejesh and Manuel Frederick shall be on the forefront of such actions,” he added.
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