Coach Paul van Ass and skipper Sardar Singh are hoping that their teams has learnt a valuable lesson from their massive 6-2 defeat against Australia on Sunday in the Hockey World League semi-finals
Paul Van Ass
Antwerp (Belgium): Coach Paul van Ass and skipper Sardar Singh are hoping that their teams has learnt a valuable lesson from their massive 6-2 defeat against Australia on Sunday in the Hockey World League semi-finals.
Paul Van Ass
The Indian team till then, despite its limitation in terms of options, had put it across France and Poland and played out a 2-2 draw against Pakistan. But Australia thoroughly exposed the Indian defence and its inability to fall back and defend counter-attacks.
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"Let us admit this was not our day, let us learn lessons from this game and there will be other moments to prove ourselves," said Van Ass, who took the Dutch team to a silver medal at 2014 World Cup.
Outclassed
"We were not able to adjust to the higher rhythm and ball speed and gave away too much early in the game. It was also nerves and we were already 3-4 down before realising. In the second half we played better."
About missed chances, he said, "We had come chances, but they had more chances than us." As for Malaysia, India's opponents in the quarter-finals tomorrow, he said, "They are not an easy team. We must be careful from the start and not waste opportunities."