Star drag-flicker Harmanpreet says team are gutted with 0-7 defeat to Oz
A dejected Harmanpreet Singh (left) walks back with India teammates after the 0-7 loss to Australia at Birmingham on Monday. Pic/PTI
The bitter loss to Australia in the Commonwealth Games 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.
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 for a silver medal on Monday. “It is hard to digest a loss by such a big margin,” the India vice-captain said in a Hockey India (HI) release after returning to the country early on Wednesday morning.
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“Definitely the entire team is disappointed by the way we played, but it’s important we move on from this bitter outing. Like chief coach [Graham Reid] mentioned, we lacked the energy and tempo required to match-up to a team like Australia,” he added.
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Fine performances
While the final was a forgettable experience, India marched into the summit clash on the back 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 semi-final. “There are many lessons from this campaign that we can learn from and improve upon. Every match we played will be analysed thoroughly when we return to camp after a two week break and we will be starting from scratch,” said Harmanpreet.
The 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.
‘Memorable outing’
“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 crowd 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 Games medal, so in all it was a special outing for me on a personal note,” he said.
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