Sreejesh, the coach, plots India’s Jr World Cup high

With an Olympic bronze hanging from his neck, PR Sreejesh retired on a high as a player after the 2024 Paris Games.

- Sandip Sikdar

Now in his second innings as head coach of the India U-21 team, the former keeper wants to touch fresh heights, at the Jr World Cup. It’s been more than a year since the 37-year-old took charge, guiding India colts to the 2024 Junior Asia Cup gold and 2025 Sultan of Johor Cup silver, but the Junior World Cup in Tamil Nadu from Nov 28 to Dec 10 will be Sreejesh’s test as tactician.

It won't be easy. For starters, the field has been expanded from 16 to 24 teams, meaning there will be many unknown entities lurking with potential to cause an upset.

“The matches in the initial stages are going to be tricky because some teams are really low ranked. You can expect a huge number of goals in the league round. But with European teams and Australia, we can always predict (that matches will be of high level),” said Sreejesh, who was awarded the Padma Bhushan — India’s third highest civilian honour — in April.