The Indian men’s hockey team captain Manpreet Singh on Sunday said his players ‘almost killed themselves’ in their efforts to secure an Olympic semifinal berth after a gap of 49 years, heaping praise on their commitment during the 3-1 quarterfinal win over Great Britain.
The skipper said self-belief was key to success as India made the last four round of the Olympics for the first time after the 1972 Munich Games.
“It was believing. Everyone believing in themselves and that was the key today, everyone gave their 100 per cent today and they were dying and almost killed themselves on the field,” Manpreet said.
“Everyone played very well. We scored three outstanding goals, the strikers made a good opportunity and the whole team played really well.”
Elated with the outcome of Sunday’s match, Manpreet cautioned his teammates against early celebrations, saying the “business hasn’t finished yet.”
“We are so happy because after a long time we are reaching a semifinal. Still, the business hasn’t finished yet. Still we have two more games so we need to focus, we need to have our feet on the ground and we need to focus on the next match,” he said.
Experienced India goalkeeper PR Sreejesh pulled off some fine saves on Monday to play his part in the win, and Manpreet was full of praise for the stalwart. “Unbelievable. You can see he (Sreejesh) always gives us life. That’s why we call him ‘The Wall’. It’s always outstanding,” he said.