Hockey stalwart PR Sreejesh will have to spend months mentally preparing himself for the takeover of the role of Junior team’s coach.

The announcement came on Wednesday at a felicitation function for the star goalkeeper.

"There won't be a vacuum. Someone will come in my place, for sure. All the sports are like that. Sachin Tendulkar was there and now there is Virat Kohli, and someone will take his place tomorrow. So, Sreejesh was there yesterday, but someone else will come and take his place tomorrow," the goalkeeping stalwart has said.

Sreejesh, who has played a mammoth of 336 international games, paid his obeisance to the sport, he dearly loved.

India's eight-time Olympic champions last secured an Olympic medal, a bronze, in the Tokyo 2020 games, marking a revival of the sport's golden era.

eteran goalkeepers P R Sreejesh and Savita Punia found themselves in contention for the 'Player of the Year' honours in the men's and women's category respectively as Hockey India unveiled nominees for its annual awards which will be presented here on March 31.

"For me, this Olympics is really important because at this age it is really hard for me to talk about the next four-year cycle. From the last Olympics, I was only taking one year at a time. The rest decision comes after the Olympics," Sreejesh stated. 

"This profession has helped me in my personal life on how to deal with pressure and criticism as well," Sreejesh added during a conversation with David Lee, who is the head coach of Prime Volleyball League franchise Bengaluru Torpedoes.