Hockey World Cup 2023: India will be up against Wales in the final group-stage contest on Thursday. Meanwhile, Manpreet Singh has affirmed that the side will attempt to convert the penalty corners.
India was located wanting in penalty corner transformations in its opening couple of games in the 2023 FIH Men's World Cup. Still, midfielder Manpreet Singh hopes the hosts will hit the mark versus Wales on Thursday. India has accumulated nine penalty corners so far. Still, it has yet to score once from them directly, though Amit Rohidas found the target versus Spain in the opening contests in Rourkela after skipper Harmanpreet Singh's drag-flick bounced back from an opponent's stick. Versus England, with what played out as a goalless draw, India obtained four PCs.
"There were few misses, but if you see, England also defended well, and their goalkeeper did well. We cannot say that it was not our mistake, but England defended well somewhere. We will analyse where we went wrong. The playing structure of England and Wales are almost the same, and we will try to execute the penalty corners we get against Wales," Manpreet signified PTI after the team exercise on Tuesday.
Manpreet said the game versus Wales would be necessary as an oversized conquest would put India on top of Pool D. "We will try to play our best and play our normal game and execute our plans," said Manpreet, who had ushered India to a historic bronze medal during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The toppers in each of the four pools directly qualify for the quarterfinals. Each group's second and third-place finishers will play a cross-over match for a chance in the quarterfinal. Questioned about his function with the side, as he is no longer the skipper, Manpreet spoke, "To be honest, earlier also [when I was the skipper], when I set foot on the ground, I gave my 100 per cent, and it is the same now also."
"In our team, it is not like that Harmanpreet is the captain [and he does it all] because hockey is a team game, and what is more important is to have the contribution of all the team members. So, the mindset is the same: I would give 100 per cent whenever I play and take the youngsters along," added Manpreet.
Manpreet could have been better in India's couple of contests, considering his high standards on the field each time he plays, but he is not too concerned. "It's all right. Every time I play, I try to do my best. No player is satisfied with his performance, always thinking he could have done better in every match. The more I contribute, the better it will be for the team," he concluded.
(With inputs from PTI)