2023 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup | Harmanpreet Singh laments lost opportunities against New Zealand
Even though the Indian team crashed out of the 2023 FIH Men's Hockey World Cup early, captain Harmanpreet Singh has said that he is satisfied with the team's performance. Though he lamented the fact that India did not play well against New Zealand in the third and fourth quarter.
India had lost 5-3 to New Zealand in the penalty shootout after the match ended in a draw at 3-3. India was leading 3-1 at one point but conceded two goals in the fourth quarter. They also missed a handful of penalty corner opportunities.
"If we had made fewer mistakes in the third and fourth quarter in the Crossover match against New Zealand and capitalised on our chances, the final outcome would have been different," said the ace drag-flicker in the post-match press conference on Saturday.
Having said that, India remained undefeated in regulation time, which could be looked at as one of the positives from the tournament. "We did not lose a single match in the tournament -- barring the Crossover match with New Zealand which we lost in the shoot-out. We played well overall," he said.
"We played like a team, fought in every match like a team. Of course, it was disappointing that would not do better in the third and fourth quarters against New Zealand," he said.