FIH Series Finals | India’s finishing was very good today, believes Manpreet Singh
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After India’s commanding win against Russia by 10-0 goals in the first game of the FIH Series Finals, Manpreet Singh is of the belief that the team’s finishing was very good up front. Manpreet also praised the forward duo of Ramandeep Singh and Akashdeep Singh for their efforts in the match.
Even before India and Russia arrived on the turf, most Pundits knew that it would be an easy win for the Indians but none of them would have thought that the margin would be so huge. The Indian team have kicked off the tournament on a great note as they got the better of Russia by 10-0 goals in the Group A battle. India looked a bit rusty in the beginning but still managed to score a Perfect 10 in 60 minutes of game time this evening.
A happy Indian captain Manpreet said that India got good chances and finished them up front. He also hailed the forwards for creating penalty corners in the match. India created nine penalty corners and managed to convert four out of them.
“We got a lot of chances today, missed a few in the beginning but after that, we did play well. We scored field goals really well and also created PCs. Our finishing was very good today. We will try to continue this and these things will be important in the upcoming matches. Our next match is against Poland and they are a defensive team and we need to avail these chances,” Manpreet said during the post-match Press Conference.
Meanwhile, Russian player Pavel Golubev termed it a difficult match for his team. “It was a really difficult game for us. We made a lot of mistakes. I think it was a kind of lack of confidence. But we gained a lot of experience in this game and we will use it for the next games. Thanks to India to play such a game with us, it’s really a big experience for us,” Golubev mentioned.
Ramandeep Singh played an international game for the first time after recovering from injury and looked fully fit. He combined well with Akashdeep Singh, Gursahibjit Singh, and Simranjeet Singh to create good chances for India today. On the other hand, Akashdeep Singh also managed to score two very good field goals in the match. When asked about Ramandeep’s fitness, Manpreet said that seeing the way Ramandeep played today, there should be no doubt on his fitness.
“Ramandeep and Akashdeep are senior players. They played good passing game and created PCs as well. If we talk about Raman’s fitness, he has done well. If he had played the game by running around then there should be no doubts regarding his fitness. Overall, both of their experience worked well for us. The forwards passed the ball among themselves to score goals,” the Indian skipper explained.
India’s first game was the 250th international game for the skipper as well. He had played his 200th match for India at the Kalinga Stadium as well.
“It feels amazing. My 200th match was here only and now it’s the 250th match. We get a lot of support from the crowd here and hopefully, I will play my 300th game here as well,” Manpreet concluded.
