The bitter loss to Australia in the Commonwealth Games 2022 final is ‘hard to digest’ but the Indian hockey team will have to move on, said star drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh, promising a thread-bare analyse of the side's performance in Birmingham. (More Hockey News)
In one of its worst performances in recent times, India suffered an embarrassing 0-7 drubbing at the hands of defending champions Australia to settle fo🔜r a silver medal on Sunday. “It is hard to digest a loss by such a big margin,” the India vice-captain said.
“Definitely the entire team is disappointed by the way we played but it's𒁃 important we move on from th🔜is bitter outing. Like Chief Coach mentioned, we lacked the energy and tempo required to match-up to a team like Australia."
While the final was a forgettable experience, India marched into the summit clash on the b𓂃ack of some fine performances in the group stage as they beat Ghana 11-0, drew against England 4-4, beat Canada 8-0 and Wales 4-1 followed by a 3-2 win against South Africa in the semifinal.
“There are many lessons from this campaign that we can work on and improve upon. Every matc🐷h we played will be analyzed thoroughly when we return to camp after a two week break and we will be starting from scratch,” said Harmanpreet.
Tไhe 26-year-old from Amritsar was in sublime form throughout the tournament as he scored nine goals and was the second highest goal scorer along with Wales' Gareth Furlong.
“This ⛦was a memorable outing for me personally despite the final not going our way. For the first time after the pandemic, we were playing in front of such a big crowds and many 🎐Indian fans had turned up,” he said.
“My wife travelled to Birmingham to watch our matches, and this was the first time she was watching me play a 🥂big tournament live. This is my first Commonwealth Gaᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚmes medal, so in all it was a special outing for me on a personal note,” he said.
Furlong scored n🍸ine goals from penalty corners, while Harmanpreet scored eight from PCs and one from a penalty stroke. He also scored a hat-trick, in India's 4-1 win against Wales. England's Nicholas Band♛urak remained the highest goal-scorer of the tournament with 11 goals.
India will now prepare for the upcoming FIH Hockey Pro League season 2022/23 which begins in October. India is scheduled to play New Zealand and Spain at home. The team will re🐻turn to the national coaching camp in Bengaluru on August 29.
