India’s Tokyo Olympics bronze medal-winning team is still hurting over their shock 2-5 defeat to World No.10 France earlier this month in the FIH Pro League. And skipper Manpreet Singh had no hesitation in admitting this on the eve of their Pro League double header against No.9 Spain at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
Lessons learnt
“We are definitely disappointed at the loss to France, but that defeat has also taught us a some valuable lessons. It’s a long season ahead [with the World Cup, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games coming up] so I feel that defeat is a wake-up call for us. It showed us that in modern hockey, you cannot underestimate any team and that you have to give your best against every team. This will keep us in good stead for the season,” Manpreet said in reply to question by mid-day during a virtual interaction on Friday.
The skipper however, insisted that his team won’t repeat their mistakes. “We analysed that match and saw where we erred and how we gave away scoring opportunities. We can’t change the past, but I assure you the next time when we meet them [France], we will beat them,” he added.
Positive vibes
Speaking of Team India’s upcoming Pro League matches, Manpreet said, “It’s always nice to come back to the Kalinga Stadium. We always get good, positive vibes here. In the next few months, we play top teams like Spain, Germany, Argentina and England. We have to give our 100 percent and win all those matches because they carry points and that will affect our rankings. This is not a tournament, so we have to focus on one opponent at a time. Right now, our focus is Spain. We have to continue playing fast, attacking hockey and make our chances count,” he concluded.
