Veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who announced his retirement ahead of the Paris Olympics, was not happy with the mistakes made against New Zealand in the tense 3-2 win.
SportsTak Desk
Sunday, July 28, 2024
Photo caption: PR Sreejesh makes a save against New Zealand in the opening match of the Paris Olympics (Screenshot: X)
History highlights:
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India coach Craig Fulton is not happy with his team’s inability to maintain possession.
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This will be the last Olympics of goalkeeper PR Sreejesh’s career.
Veteran Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh was not impressed with his side’s performance after a thrilling 3-2 win against New Zealand in the opening match of the Paris 2024 Olympics. Sreejesh feels it is a wake-up call for the Harmanpreet Singh-led side as they are scheduled to face tougher teams in the group stage games.
India was expected to beat New Zealand by a huge margin of goals, but after the first quarter they found themselves trailing. Goals from Mandeep Singh and Vivek Sangar Prasad helped them come back. But the score was level in the 53rd minute when Simon Child scored from a penalty corner. In the end, it was Harmanpreet Singh’s penalty in the 59th minute that helped India beat New Zealand.
“The first match at the Olympics is never easy. New Zealand is not an easy team. We made some mistakes, but there were some good things too. It’s a good wake-up call for the team,” Sreejesh said.
“We got three points and that’s the important thing. We gave them opportunities and they took advantage of them. The last few minutes weren’t easy, but that’s always the case in hockey, from the opening whistle to the end there’s tension,” he added.
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The coach regrets too many interceptions
India head coach Craig Fulton was also not happy with India’s disappointing performance. He felt that India was not able to maintain possession.
“We have some plans, but we have different plans for different teams. And the best way to defend sometimes is to attack, and we really didn’t do enough with the ball.
“We weren’t very good with the ball today, but New Zealand is a competitive team, so they did well. They intercepted a lot of balls, so there are few areas we need to work on. We did well,” he said.
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Fulton was relieved with the win, however, saying that at an event like the Olympics there are no easy teams.
“We played a good game and I’m glad we won the way we did because we made some mistakes. We got punished for it. And in the end, we recovered and got the win.”
“This is the Olympics, so everyone is prepared. You know, it’s not an easy team.”
India group stage schedule
India’s next match will be against Argentina on July 29. The following day, they will face Ireland. India’s last two matches in the group stage will be against Belgium and Australia on August 1 and 2 respectively.
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