Legendary Indian hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh asserted the requirement for the nation to invest in grassroots sports in order to have a bearing on the 2026 Olympic Games. The two-time Olympic medallist iterated that exposure and attention to talent identification and scouting would play a major role in strengthening the culture around sports in the nation. “Exposure is the key. Getting into the world level and performing from there is the dream,” Sreejesh began at the RCB Innovation Labs event in Bengaluru on Friday. “What makes the Olympics unique is the mental pressure. Preparing athletes to be equipped to perform at that level is most important,” he added. “We have room to improve in talent identification. At the nursery level, at the grassroots, there’s a lot to work on. That’s where the investment needs to go in,” he said. “If we are speaking about the 2036 Olympics, now is when we need to tap into the talent between the age groups of 12-14 years,” the 36-year-old added. “We need to introduce sports culture into our system. That’s important, not just to win medals but for overall health and well-being. The younger generation is very focused on medals, which is great, but we also need to build a foundation that sustains their journey in sports,” the Indian hockey stalwart, who called curtains on his illustrious career with a bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, said. He noted that young athletes today have real examples of Indian success on the global stage, which can help them believe in their potential. He also touched upon the boost the visibility of successful sportsmen have on the budding talent in terms of aspirations and as role-models for the younger generations to look up to. “When we started playing, we always heard about the history of the sport. Now, we can realistically show young kids that we can achieve on the global stage. When I work with U21 players at Hockey India, I want them to believe that they too can achieve success,” he stated.