Indian goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh has urged his team to focus on securing a bronze medal in the Paris Olympics, putting the disappointment of a 3-2 semifinal loss to world champions Germany behind them. Sreejesh, who will play his last international match in the bronze medal encounter against Spain on Thursday, emphasized the importance of winning a medal for the country. “It’s a medal match and it’s not about me, it’s about the country. It’s about those 19 players and the staff. We will get a last opportunity to play, to get a medal for our country (and should focus on that) rather than worrying about what happened today,” he said.
The experienced custodian acknowledged that India missed crucial opportunities, including several penalty corners. “We got our chances but did not convert many of those. You can see it in the scoreline. It’s a matter of homework. They did a wonderful job against Harman (Harmanpreet Singh), how to tackle him. Because he’s one of the best drag-flickers in the world and definitely that’s what they’ve done against us.
“They fought like champions and I think (there was) some luck with them and they got it. But my players have done a wonderful job. They fought back, they really stood tall. Unfortunately, we couldn’t finish it the way we wanted. It’s not an easy deal.”
Sreejesh expressed confidence in the team’s ability to bounce back against Spain. “We are tough. I believe we will bounce back in a better way. This consultation will have to be about how to fight that bronze medal match more than discussing this loss. We need to look at this match also because from there we will realize what went wrong and what we can do better. Because a lot of the opposition look into these kinds of matches, they learn how they can hurt us in certain ways. So, we need to find that out and we need to block that. Spain is not an easy team. They are real fighters. The way they played in the quarterfinals showed that we can’t be in a relaxing chair.”
Sreejesh’s words highlight the team’s determination to finish the tournament on a high note, emphasizing their focus on learning from their mistakes and securing a medal for India.
