IND vs NZ Live, Hockey World Cup 2023: New Zealand take on India in do or die match

Without a sight screen like in cricket, a hockey goalkeeper’s biggest weapon is eyesight

Of the many things PR Sreejesh would’ve expected before he joined the national team set-up nearly 20 years ago, a test for colour blindness must not have been one of them.
And yet, one of India’s best hockey goalkeepers of all time was made to sit on an ophthalmic chair, recognising designs and shapes, and get examined for – among many things – colour blindness.
“Many players realised they had a number when they came to the national camp,” former India goalkeeper Adrian D’Souza says. “So, we would all have our eye tests done. They did an in-depth test for goalkeepers because we had to see much more clearly than an average hockey player. I did it, Sreejesh did it… we used to get marked on the basis of that.”
D’Souza doesn’t remember their scores. But given how sharply Sreejesh’s eyes pick the fast-moving ball even today, at the age of 34, it must have been with flying colours. (READ MORE)