Dharamvir Singh: Confidence was the key for our success today

Trailing two goals to nil, India made a commendable comeback to seal a 4-2 win and rally into the semi-final. Taking lead for the first time after Akashdeep Singh netted the third goal in the 41st minute; it was Man of the Match Dharamvir Singh who hammered the fourth and final nail to deny Belgium a semi-final spot.

“When we were 2-0 down, we had decided to equalize the score in the first half itself. That would allow us to play a new game in the second half. It went according to our plan and we got the early goals,” Dharamvir told www.stick2hockey.com.

“Even we were on the trailing side, we never let the thinking come in our minds that we would lose. Instead, we held our heads high and looked forward to net goals.”

Riding on a high after the win against Netherlands in their last pool match, India was on the advantage right from the beginning of the match, making fewer mistakes. In fact, the India’s habit of conceding goals just after taking lead did not bother them in this match.

“We had won against a good team. The confidence of that win displayed in this match as well. There was a good combination between the forward-line and the mid field. So, the possession was more with us which helped us control their counter-attacks. We had also practiced our hits for a long time in our practice session.”

India will now face arch rivals Pakistan in the semi-final. India last met them during the final of the Asian Games which they won in the shoot-outs.

“We have a rest day. We will spend that looking at the videos of Pakistan’s game and eventually plan out a strategy. India versus Pakistan is an emotional match, but we will not play with emotions rather we will play according to our strategies.