NEW DELHI: Indian males's hockey staff captain PR Sreejesh feels that a bronze medal and win in opposition to Pakistan can infrequently heal the ache of not being able to win the gold at the Asian Games.
India lost to Malaysia in a shoot-off after conceding an equaliser in the final minute of the regulation time.
Being the protecting champions and ranked 5th on the planet, India were obviously the overpowering favourites to retain the Asian Games gold and they lived upto the billing in the pool levels, scoring a record 76 targets earlier than the defeat in the semi-finals.
The defeat sent shock waves in the Indian hockey fraternity and a few even stated that overconfidence let the staff down, but Sreejesh begs to vary.
"There is no question that we are disappointed. We the players know how hurt we are because we have performed exceedingly well through the year. The bronze is a consolation medal and it can't heal our pain," Sreejesh advised PTI during an interaction.
There were talks concerning the staff being complacent but Sreejesh begged to vary.
"After the loss to Malaysia, some people said that we became overconfident but it is not true. We were confident not overconfident. We were confident of beating anyone but silly mistakes cost us dear," he stated.
"In the game against Malaysia, we started well but our tactics of slowing down the game in the middle backfired. It gave the opposition chances to attack us and they took advantage of it."
The Indians went into the Asiad looking to seal their Olympic berth smartly in advance but that did not happen.
Sreejesh, alternatively, stated that all is not lost and exuded self belief of qualifying for the Olympics in long run.
"Asian Games is one of the chances to qualify for the Olympics, it's not the last. There will be ample options available to qualify for the Olympics and we are confident of achieving it," he stated.
"It's just that we were capable of qualifying from the Asian Games but we couldn't make it."
The skipper, alternatively, is assured of turning it round in the season-ending World Cup to be held in Bhubaneswar.
"We are top 5 in the world at the moment but in a World Cup you can't predict anything because top 16 teams of the world will be there. In the end, it will boil down to how you perform on the ground," Sreejesh stated.
"But if you look at our performance throughout the year we are a podium contender. We just need to maintain our consistency on the turf," he added.
India lost to Malaysia in a shoot-off after conceding an equaliser in the final minute of the regulation time.
Being the protecting champions and ranked 5th on the planet, India were obviously the overpowering favourites to retain the Asian Games gold and they lived upto the billing in the pool levels, scoring a record 76 targets earlier than the defeat in the semi-finals.
The defeat sent shock waves in the Indian hockey fraternity and a few even stated that overconfidence let the staff down, but Sreejesh begs to vary.
"There is no question that we are disappointed. We the players know how hurt we are because we have performed exceedingly well through the year. The bronze is a consolation medal and it can't heal our pain," Sreejesh advised PTI during an interaction.
There were talks concerning the staff being complacent but Sreejesh begged to vary.
"After the loss to Malaysia, some people said that we became overconfident but it is not true. We were confident not overconfident. We were confident of beating anyone but silly mistakes cost us dear," he stated.
"In the game against Malaysia, we started well but our tactics of slowing down the game in the middle backfired. It gave the opposition chances to attack us and they took advantage of it."
The Indians went into the Asiad looking to seal their Olympic berth smartly in advance but that did not happen.
Sreejesh, alternatively, stated that all is not lost and exuded self belief of qualifying for the Olympics in long run.
"Asian Games is one of the chances to qualify for the Olympics, it's not the last. There will be ample options available to qualify for the Olympics and we are confident of achieving it," he stated.
"It's just that we were capable of qualifying from the Asian Games but we couldn't make it."
The skipper, alternatively, is assured of turning it round in the season-ending World Cup to be held in Bhubaneswar.
"We are top 5 in the world at the moment but in a World Cup you can't predict anything because top 16 teams of the world will be there. In the end, it will boil down to how you perform on the ground," Sreejesh stated.
"But if you look at our performance throughout the year we are a podium contender. We just need to maintain our consistency on the turf," he added.
Consolation hockey bronze in Asiad can't heal our pain, says Sreejesh
![Consolation hockey bronze in Asiad can't heal our pain, says Sreejesh]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
September 04, 2018
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