Sportstar Focus Bihar Conclave: Olympic champions Vijender, Sreejesh and Sharad shed light on their rise to the top
Sportstar Focus Bihar Conclave: Olympic champions Vijender, Sreejesh and Sharad shed light on their rise to the top
During a panel discussion titled ‘Chasing a medal – The grit behind the glory’ as part of the Sportstar Focus Bihar Conclave 2025 here on Friday, Olympians Vijender Singh, P. R. Sreejesh and Sharad Kumar shared their journeys to the podium and outlined the path ahead for Indian sport.
“We come from a bhaagad area in Haryana where there isn’t a lot of water in the land. There aren’t a lot of sports played there,” boxing bronze medallist Vijender explained. “My role model was Hawa Singh who won both the Dronacharya and Arjuna Award. My grandfather used to box in the army so our biggest passion ended up being army and sport.”
High jumper Sharad said that it was a case of the sport coming naturally to him rather than him going after it. “Sometimes when you chase something and you don’t succeed, you end up drifting away from it. But if you go naturally, you keep going and eventually excel at it,” said the two-time Paralympic gold medallist.
“Watching somebody with a leg deformity participate in high jump was a different kick and I wanted people to enjoy that. My coach in Ukraine used to say, ‘Sharad, others are athletes but you are an artist. Let all of them feel what is in high jump,’” he added.
Double Olympic medal-winning hockey legend Sreejesh spoke about the mental strength hockey goalkeepers need to possess to be in the zone despite being away from the action for long periods in the game.
“I don’t know how to dribble a ball. I don’t know how to run with the ball. I’m playing a different role to everybody else. Goalkeeping is a mind game,” he said.
“After conceding a goal or making a save you have enough time to think. If you control yourself it is easy to perform. But, if you use that time to analyse yourself or do a post-mortem, then you will concede a goal,” he explained.
In his new role as a coach of the junior team, Sreejesh shed light on the instructions he passes on to his players. “The first target is the Junior World Cup but I have asked them to think beyond that. The Olympics are coming in 2028 and 2032. That should be the dream,” he said.
Sharad hoped the momentum of two back-to-back successful Summer Games campaigns fuels a desire in the youth to keep achieving.
“ Loha garam hai. Ye mahaul hai poore desh mein (The iron is hot. That is the mood throughout the country). Let’s make sports a habit. We should try and target every individual and convey that sports is basic for a good life,” he concluded.
