CWG 2022: Gold Coast failure to assist India at Birmingham, says India males’s hockey group captain Manpreet Singh
The Indian males’s hockey group captain Manpreet Singh believes that his group will be taught from the errors dedicated 4 years earlier at Gold Coast 2018 and provides a greater efficiency on the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Six-time champions Australia are the recent favourites in Birmingham and the Indians should beat them at some stage if they’re to clinch gold. But, Manpreet stated his gamers usually are not breaking a sweat as but considering over their potential conflict with the Kookaburras.
“Right now, we are focusing on the group stage matches and not thinking about Australia at all. Everyone is of the opinion that we give our best in these matches and then think about what Australia has to offer when we face them,” Manpreet stated at a digital press convention forward of the Games.
The Indian group begins its marketing campaign with a gaggle match in opposition to Ghana on Sunday.
Australia have gained each one of many six Commonwealth Games hockey tournaments up to now.
“As a team, we have set a goal that we have to win a medal in Birmingham and we can feel the weight of expectations as well. However, in order to reach that stage, we have to give our absolute best in each game and not take any opposition lightly,” he added.
The 30-year-old, who will likely be making his three hundredth look for India when he seems in opposition to Ghana, termed his enjoying profession as a roller-coaster journey, stuffed with ups and downs.
“The journey has been absolutely special. It has also been a sheer honour to play for India for so long. The game has taught me so many things about life.
“I made my debut in 2011 when India gained the Asian Champions Trophy. However, the very subsequent yr, London Olympics was disastrous as we couldn’t win a single sport. We improved by leaps and bounds within the subsequent few years by profitable some massive occasions. So, it has been a roller-coaster journey for me,” Manpreet said.
Head coach Graham Reid, who has been at the helm of affairs since 2019, said he’s fully aware of what the players are capable of achieving in Birmingham.
“We have nice expectations from one another in Birmingham. Yes, there will likely be enormous expectations from the Indian followers as nicely, wanting us to win a medal. But these are exterior pressures and we can not do a lot about it. We can solely management what’s inside our grasp,” Reid stated.
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