We were confident not overconfident, says PR Sreejesh after Asian Games exit

09/04/2018

After the Indian hockey team settled with bronze at the Asian Games, PR Sreejesh has opened up saying that his side was confident but certainly not overconfident after defeating few lower-ranked teams in the group stage. The Indian captain also called the bronze medal nothing but a consolation.

The Indian hockey team bowed out of the Asian Games after being beaten by Malaysia in a shootout during the semi-final. After the game ended with a draw in regulation time, Malaysia defeated India in sudden death of the shootout. Many eyebrows were raised after the exit of the Indian side with some claiming that the team was complacent after big wins in the pool stage of the tournament while some said that the team was overconfident against the Malaysians which cost them. However, the Indian captain has rubbished such allegations.

“After the loss to Malaysia, some people said that we became overconfident but it is not true. We were confident not overconfident. We were confident of beating anyone but silly mistakes cost us dear,” Sreejesh told PTI.

“In the game against Malaysia, we started well but our tactics of slowing down the game in the middle backfired. It gave the opposition chances to attack us and they took advantage of it.”

The Indian team, which is ranked fifth in FIH rankings, were the favorites for the Asian Games this time. The defending champions started off well from the very first game when they defeated hosts Indonesia 17-0 before thrashing Hong Kong with a historical margin of 26-0 and got the better of Japan, Korea and Sri Lanka in the remaining matches. The team had an eye on the qualification for the Tokyo Olympics but losing the semi-final deterred their hopes. Although the Indian goalkeeper is not disappointed with the outcome, he feels that the win against Pakistan in the bronze medal match was only a consolation.

“There is no question that we are disappointed. We the players know how hurt we are because we have performed exceedingly well through the year. The bronze is a consolation medal and it can’t heal our pain,” said the custodian.

“Asian Games is one of the chances to qualify for the Olympics, it’s not the last. There will be ample options available to qualify for the Olympics and we are confident of achieving it. It’s just that we were capable of qualifying from the Asian Games but we couldn’t make it.”

Sreejesh is confident that the Indian side will do well in the upcoming World Cup to be held in Bhubaneswar.

“We are top 5 in the world at the moment but in a World Cup you can’t predict anything because top 16 teams of the world will be there. In the end, it will boil down to how you perform on the ground. But if you look at our performance throughout the year we are a podium contender. We just need to maintain our consistency on the turf.“

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