Princedeep Singh grew up wanting to be like PR Sreejesh. So much so that the rookie goalkeeper even got the legendary Indian custodian’s jersey number — 16 — on his back. And now, in the team coached by Sreejesh, Princedeep has emerged as a standout performer.
On Friday, the 21-year-old goalkeeper shot himself into the limelight with a sensational display in the tie-breaker as India defeated Belgium in a thrilling quarterfinal of the FIH Junior World Cup in Chennai.
The number 16, made famous by Sreejesh, has a special place even for Princedeep. “I started playing Hockey around 2015 in Chima Academy in Batala and I actually played full-back for a year. At the same time, I also used to play football during the weekends, and I was good at goalkeeping because of my height, which is how my interest developed. Then I took up hockey goalkeeping in 2016,” Princedeep tells The Indian Express. “At that time, I used to watch the Indian team at the 2016 Olympic Games and I wanted to be like PR Sreejesh.”
The boots are obviously too big to fill, but the potential Princedeep has was evident in Chennai as he thwarted Belgium twice in the shootout. The standout moment of the night was when Nicolas Bogaerts dribbled forward into the circle and was first prevented from getting a shot away by Princedeep’s stick. The Belgian player, however, still managed to get to the loose ball and his shot was heading into goal, when Princedeep sprang back up from the turf, took a couple of steps to his left and put in a full-length dive to block the ball with his stick for the second time.
Sreejesh, the now-retired No. 16, spoke highly of Princedeep in Madurai a few days earlier after India’s 5-0 win against Switzerland. “For me, he was the man of the match, because of how well he played in the third quarter and saved that stroke,” Sreejesh had said.
Hailing from Pathankot in Punjab, Princedeep was raised in a joint family of 15 members. His father runs a grocery shop in his village, while the family also does farming. The youngster recalls chanting his idol’s name at a match and is now relishing the chance to work with Sreejesh on a daily basis.
“Right from when I took up goalkeeping after watching Sreejesh, I was obsessed about wearing the No. 16 jersey,” the rookie goalkeeper says. “I used to watch his HIL matches, and once we went to the KD Singh Babu tournament in Lucknow, I got a chance to watch Sreejesh bhai live. I didn’t meet him that day, just saw him from outside where we were shouting his name. And now I get to work directly with him. It’s a dream. He is helping me correct my weaknesses in a short time. Things that seemed very difficult to us once are becoming easier.”
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“The main thing he has helped me understand is how to go into a match with confidence. He insists on communicating as much as possible with the defenders and bringing match situations into practice sessions. Imagine as if I am playing the match when I train. He has also helped me understand how to handle the pressure. Earlier, I didn’t have much confidence while playing a match.”
Princedeep also had the privilege of working with Irish legend David Harte in the Hockey India League. Tamil Nadu Dragons also had Jip Janssen, one of the best drag flickers in the world, in their ranks. “When I block his drag flick in the training, ek alag hi confidence aa jata hai,” Princedeep says.
Princedeep joined RoundGlass Punjab in the middle of 2022 and went from strength to strength before making his way to the national camp. Ashfaque Ullah Khan, the senior lead for hockey operations at RoundGlass, spoke highly of Princedeep’s shot-stopping ability. “For our RoundGlass team, in Jamshedpur back in 2022, at an academy championships, he won a shootout for us, and also in 2023, he did the same at the Balwant Kapur hockey event. We have won tournaments just because of his goalkeeping,” Khan tells The Indian Express.
“His footwork and ball anticipation are brilliant; those are the main important things for a goalkeeper in hockey. He is blessed with good height. We have many goalkeepers, but only those who are tall and agile have lengthy careers. And he has all those traits. That save you saw in the shootout, when he dived a second time to save a goal, shows how strong he is physically and how quickly he can anticipate danger,” Khan adds.
Siddharth Pandey, Hyderabad Toofans’ Team Director at HIL and a commentator at the World Cup, had told this daily before the tournament that Princedeep is a lot like Sreejesh. “Prince is a solid goalkeeper. Good height, good build, good structure. While Bikramjit Singh (the second goalkeeper in the squad) is the maverick, unconventional sort, Prince is very much in the Sreejesh mould with textbook technique.”
The quarterfinal performance against Belgium will certainly aid in Princedeep becoming a more confident keeper. “The support I was getting from the crowd made me feel confident,” he said after the quarterfinal. “After the match, Sreejesh sir told me that I saved well, but the semifinal and final are still to come. Pair zameen peh rakhna hain (I have to remain grounded).”
If those agile feet are on the ground, the sky is the limit for this Prince.
Indian goalkeeper Princedeep Singh on left and PR Sreejesh on right. (Hockey India) 
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