Hockey, Olympics 2024: PR Sreejesh – ‘Given a wake-up call but pleased with New Zealand win’
India beat New Zealand 3-2 with Mandeep Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad and captain Harmanpreet Singh scoring the goals.
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It wasn’t the most technical win, but the Indian men’s hockey team did overcome the Kiwi challenge when they beat New Zealand 3-2 in the 2024 Paris Olympics Pool B opener on Saturday.
PR Sreejesh, the Indian goalkeeper who had to make a couple of very good saves to ensure that the Black Sticks didn’t take the lead, confessed that the tense win was a “good wake-up call” for the Tokyo 2020 bronze medallists.
“The first match at the Olympics isn’t always easy and New Zealand is not an easy team,” Sreejesh, who is playing his fourth and final Olympics, told PTI.
“We made some mistakes and we gave them opportunities which they converted, but there were a few good things as well. We got three points and that’s what was important.”
New Zealand had taken the lead early on in the first quarter after a spell of good Indian play saw them dominante in possession. A penalty corner which was converted by Sam Lane then saw the Kiwis force the Indians to make mistakes in the field and until Mandeep Singh’s equaliser in front of goal, the Harmanpreet Singh-led side were struggling to make an impact.
India coach Craig Fulton however was aware that most matches at this level are going to be...
