Indian hockey stalwart PR Sreejesh opens up on the Bharat versus India debate
PR Sreejesh (source-twitter)
New Delhi the national capital of India is gearing up to host the G20 summit. The two-day event is to be held on September 9th and 10th at the Pragati Maidan. Important heads of state and prominent names are set to be part of the multi-day event.
Just before the event could start, there has been a new debate which has come up. The debate started after Bharat was inserted into the official invitations instead of India. The invitations went from the Indian President Smt. Draupadi Murmu.
The official invitations read “President of Republic of Bharat” instead of India which has been the norm. This move has created a political storm and there have been massive debates around the move. The I.N.D.I.A alliance that is the principal opposition for the 2024 Indian elections has been vehement in its protests.
Indian Hockey stalwart PR Sreejesh has his say
Hockey is the national sport of the nation and stalwart goalkeeper PR Sreejesh has spoken on the latest row. Sreejesh recently while speaking to the media said “That is a new question for me because I never felt it like that because we always say ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’. So Bharat is always there. Now, instead of India, you are writing Bharat”
The Indian goalkeeper further said “I think for me, it is going to be a little strange because you are used to this word. You have been carrying this word for so many years. But for youngsters, I think that is going to be a new experience and they will be okay with that. But yes, a transition from India to Bharat is going to be really challenging.”
The Indian hockey team is all set to take part in the 2023 Asian Games which is set to be hosted in Hangzhou, China. The Indian hockey team is in Pool A along with Bangladesh, Japan, Pakistan, Singapore, and Uzbekistan.
India begins their campaign in hockey on the 24th of September with a game against Uzbekistan. This will be followed by games against Singapore and Japan. The much-anticipated game against Pakistan is set to take place on 30th September before India finishes the group phase games with the match against Bangladesh on 2nd October.
