I hated her at first, Sreejesh recalls his love story

New Delhi: First he hated her -- for being better than him at school. But as it happens in Bollywood movies, "hate" was followed by love. That's how the romance between P R Sreejesh and Aneeshya unfolded at the GVN Sports School in Kerala.

Eventually, the long jumper reciprocated, and accepted the future national hockey goalkeeper as her soulmate.

Sreejesh, who retired from the national team after the Paris Olympics, opened up about his love story during an interaction with PTI editors on Tuesday, speaking candidly about how he fell for Aneeshya. He was already studying at the sports school, located in Kannur, when Aneeshya got admitted in 2001.

"I was a bright student, top of the class. I was a superstar, the teacher's pet and favourite of everyone. She came and suddenly I see, she was better than me, scoring well in everything. I would score between 35 to 42 out of 50, she was getting 49, straight up 50.

"So I started to hate her; we became enemies and that's how it was before love blossomed," he said.

Their love has endured for over two decades, more than 10 of them as a married couple.

If anyone needs proof, they could just glance at Sreejesh's hockey sticks at the Paris Olympics -- her name was etched on a customised stick that the 36-year-old charismatic goalkeeper used at the Games, where his phenomenal 336 international caps career drew to a close with a second successive bronze medal for India.

Aneeshya, who is now an Ayurveda doctor, married Sreejesh in 2013 in an intimate temple ceremony, where only close family and friends were present.

In a recent interaction with PTI Bhasha, she had spoken about her mixed feelings on Sreejesh's international retirement. While she was happy to get more time with him at home, she said the sports fan in her would miss his towering presence in the Indian goalpost.

Sreejesh revealed that when he started playing hockey, his primary objective was to land a decent job, which was also crucial to convince Aneeshya's parents that he was a worthy match for her.

"...in Kerala before approaching the girl's father, you have to be financially secure," he said.

Needless to say that he won in life, managing to marry the girl he loved before becoming a living legend in the sport he chose to play, much like the fairytale romances that Bollywood churns out every second week.

"When I was a kid, I used to love watching movies, love stories," he said with a mischievous grin on his face, remembering the time he started living in a sports hostel just to be able to watch films whenever he wanted with his friends.

"That was my intention to join the hostel, not the sports," he admitted.

'Don't want my kids to feel burdened by my legacy'

Sreejesh and Aneeshya have two children -- son Sreeansh and daughter Anusree. Their names are also etched on hockey sticks that Sreejesh used alternately in the Olympic Games matches.

"They (the children) are like my eyes, you can't have a favourite eye. But you have just one heart, so that's for my wife," he said.

"In matches, I can rotate sticks and I try to use both the sticks with the names of my son and daughter. My daughter likes pink whereas my son likes blue.

"But in shootouts, you don't have a choice, you have to use one stick. Similarly, when you are married, you don't have choice," he quipped.

"You have to keep everyone happy." Speaking of happiness, Sreejesh said he never forces his choices on his children and would never want them to feel burdened by his rich legacy either.

"My daughter said she likes swimming, so I sent her for swimming and after seeing (PV) Sindhu, she wanted to become a badminton player. I said you start badminton no problem.

"My son wanted to become Virat Kohli, but now he is not working out at all. He said 'no dad I can't sweat'...if they want to pick up something I am more than happy because I don't want my name to be a burden on their shoulders.

"In India you do have a tendency to compare children with parents. I don't want to do that," said the man who was widely considered the heart of the Indian team.