Manpreet Singh heaped praise on his India team-mates after reaching the Olympic semi-finals against all odds, defeating Great Britain in a shoot-out despite being a player down for almost three quarters of the match.
Just minutes into the second quarter and with the score locked at 0-0, Amit Rohidas was shown a red card to leave the eight times Olympic champions with ten players for the remaining 43 minutes.
Remarkably, India took a shock lead five minutes later through a Harmanpreet Singh penalty corner, before Great Britain’s Lee Morton tied the scores from open play before half time.
Great Britain put India under intense pressure for the remaining two quarters, battering at a door that India refused to open thanks to some wonderful defending and a world class save from PR Sreejesh, playing his final tournament for India, before the game went to a shoot-out.
Sreejesh was the man of the moment in the one-on-ones, forcing Great Britain’s Conor Williamson to fire over and denying Phil Roper before Raj Kumar sealed a 4-2 win with a glorious lofted finish.
“It was so amazing”, said experienced midfielder and former India captain Manpreet Singh, who won Olympic bronze with the team at Tokyo 2020. “I expected that (it would be difficult) when we lost one guy, but we still defended very well. So I give thanks to our entire team, because they gave their best today."
Manpreet admitted that while India were upset about losing a player, it also had a galvanising effect on him and his team-mates. “We said okay, whatever. We forget it. We just need to defend well and not give them easy opportunity because they are really good team and will take it. So that's what we did. Every player in our team defended very well. They were like, ‘no, I'm not gonna let you (win) today’.”
When asked about the goalkeeping performance of retiring shot-stopper PR Sreejesh, Manpreet was full of admiration for the two-time FIH Hockey Stars Goalkeeper of the Year.
"He’s always good. We never doubt him, he always does his best. Whenever he's in between the posts, we are always confident that he will save a few balls. Big thanks to him and the entire team, they did well.”
Commenting on reaching the semi-finals for the second Olympic Games in a row, Manpreet expressed pride while also reiterating India’s ambitions here at Paris 2024.
“We are really proud of that, but last time we lost the semi-final (against Belgium)”, said Manpreet, whose team face the winner of this evening’s quarter final between Germany and Argentina. “This time we want to win and whoever comes next, we will give our best.”
The hockey competitions at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 take place from Saturday 27 July to Friday 9 August. Both the men’s and women’s competitions feature 12 teams, split into two pools of six ahead of quarter-finals, semi-finals and medal matches. For more information about the hockey competitions at Paris 2024, visit Olympics.Hockey.
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