India won a silver medal in Birmingham for most members of the men’s hockey team at the Commonwealth Games 2022, with the team losing a gold medal to goalkeeper PR Sreejesh. It is a matter of perception – if you want to see the glass half full or the hall empty. Sreejesh chose to see this as a lost opportunity.
India did well to reach the final of the men’s hockey competition here, which included world No. 1 Australia, England, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, Malaysia and Pakistan. However, India’s 0-7 defeat at the hands of Australia in the final proved bleak on the team’s celebrations. The Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist was happy to win a medal in 2018 from the Gold Coast after winning a medal.
“We didn’t win the silver medal, we lost the gold. It’s disappointing, but reaching the finals in a tournament like the Commonwealth Games is a great thing. There are a lot of young players in this team, so it will be a good lesson for them. If you want to win major medals you have to meet top teams like Australia in the finals or semi-finals. You have to prepare for it mentally and physically,” Sreejesh said after the match.
“As the senior most (in the team), this is my second loss in the final (after 2014), so it’s going to be tough, but for the youngsters, it will be a great learning.”
Added another silver medal to the collection.
Congratulations to the Indian men’s hockey team on the silver medal at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games!#IndiaKaGame #hockeyindia #B2022 #birmingham2022 @CMO_Odisha @sports_odisha @indiasports @media_sai pic.twitter.com/SVXJCLJIku— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) 8 August 2022
Sreejesh said that the team will learn from this event And will play better in big events like next year’s World Cup in Odisha and Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. “Tournaments like these give us more experience – how to handle pressure, how to come up, how to push yourself higher when you are down or when you prepare for a match.
“Now the players are gaining momentum, reaching the semi-finals and final. Once you learn how to get there they are going to be champions,” Sreejesh said.
India captain Manpreet Singh said that it was one of those days when his team could not play its game. “He played a good game, but we didn’t play our game. We made some mistakes and they took advantage and scored against us. This is the best hockey in the world, they are one of the best teams in the world. You can’t make mistakes against teams like these.”
Manpreet said silver is not the medal they have come here for. “It wasn’t the result we wanted. A good fight, a close result… So we’d be happy, but it’s not the result we wanted. We could have done something else, we could have created more opportunities.” But we didn’t play our best game,” Manpreet Singh said.
(with IANS inputs)