Hockey World Cup 2023: India Captain Harmanpreet Singh Not Happy Despite 4-2 Win Over Wales
Bhubaneswar: Despite winning 4-2 against Wales in their final Group D encounter of the ongoing Hockey World Cup 2023, India captain Harmanpreet Singh wasn’t satisfied with the show from the boys and stated they could have done better.
With the win, India finished second on the table with seven points, same as toppers England. However, England edge over India on goal difference, meaning the hosts will have to play the cross-over round for a place in the quarterfinals. England directly advance to quarters.
India will face New Zealand in their crossover match at the Kalinga Stadium on Sunday. “We are not satisfied with this win. This was not our best performance and we could have done better,” Harmanpreet said at the post-match press conference.
Needing to win by a margin of eight goals to directly qualify for the quarterfinals, India failed to live up to the expectations.
“We created chances but somehow we could not score too many goals. We hope to do better against New Zealand,” the captain, who scored his first goal from a PC, added.
India head coach Graham Reid, rued the lack of finishing by the forwards. “We played well in patches and Wales defended well. They (Wales) are a good team and if you give chances to them, they will score.
“England had also made our job tougher,” Reid said, as England’s 4-0 win over Spain put India under pressure. “I thought we still made a lot of chances but the finishing was still lacking which was the most disappointing part.
“Wales defended well. There is no easy way to gold medal in this World Cup and every team is different. There were positives we can take from today’s match.” India had beaten New Zealand 4-3 in the first match and 7-4 in the reverse game of the Pro League on October 28 and November 4 last year respectively.