Summary of this article
Hockey India snubbed PR Sreejesh as India's junior coach for Frenchman Frederic Soyez
Sreejesh led India to a bronze medal finish at the Junior World Cup last year in Chennai and Madurai
Sreejesh claims India's senior men's coach Craig Fulton influence in his ouster, while Hockey India refutes
PR Sreejesh's fairly successful stint as coach of India's junior men's team ended on a bitter note, and it left the former Indian great displeased. Despite leading India to a bronze medal finish at the Junior World Cup last year in Chennai and Madurai, the coaching contract of the two-time Olympic bronze-medallist wasn't renewed.
Hockey India invited applications for the post of India's junior men's team coach, and Sreejesh also applied for the same but was overlooked for the parent body for the decorated Frenchman Frederic Soyez.
The snub didn't sit well with Sreejesh, who took to it to social media and alleged the federating ignored his reappointment to accommodate the foreign coach demand of India's senior men's coach Craig Fulton.
PTI tried to get into the crux of this matter and reached out the players to get their views on the coaching tenure of PR Sreejesh, which turned out to be mixed.
"Some players of the junior team were not happy with Sreejesh's working style, they couldn't reach him when needed over phone when camps were not in progress," a well-placed source told PTI.
However, another source said Sreejesh was available whenever needed and his record as a coach was proof enough. During his tenure India won five medals in as many tournaments.
Hockey India Refutes Craig Fulton's Intervention Claim
Hockey India denies Sreejesh's claim and clarifies that the decision of appointing new foreign coach was made to bolster the long-term vision of building a high-performing ecosystem in alignment with the India's vision of hosting the 2036 Olympic Games.
"We have not fired Sreejesh. His contract expired in December 2025 and we followed the due process of and advertised for the position. He also applied and applicants were short-listed and finalised as per a proper selection process basis merit," said HI President Dilip Tirkey.
The parent body also revealed that while Sreejesh wasn't re-appointed as the Indian junior men's head coach, they did want to him to lead their development programme, coach India A and more.
"We never wanted him to come out of the coaching programme, we offered him to lead the developmental programme, India A and beyond that. Besides that we offered him to guide our goalkeepers at the national level with his vast experience, but he refused," he asserted.
"But the doors are always open for him and other Indian coaches." Sreejesh's transition from an Olympic medal-winning goalkeeper to junior India coach was a rare privilege, an appointment made straight from the field with zero formal coaching experience.
PR Sreejesh has mostly played under multiple foreign coaches, such as Roelant Oltmans, Terry Walsh, Graham Reid, and Craig Fulton, which is why this Indian vs. foreign coach narrative in his social media outburst, where he claims Craig Fulton's role in a push for a foreign coach looks a little absurd.
However, Tirkey was quick to refute the claims of Craig Fulton's preference of a foreign coach and reiterated that the decision was taken keeping in mind the vision of our government to build a pathway towards 2036.
"We have never conveyed to him that the chief coach of the men's team has given a preference to appoint a foreign coach for the junior side. As a federation, we are collectively working towards the vision of our government to build a pathway towards 2036 and a big part of that process is to develop our Indian coaching talent." Sreejesh is also the mentor and Director of Hockey India League franchise Delhi SG Pipers.
