Visibly disappointed with the way India played against Malaysia today, assistant coach Jude Felix says the only positive that can be drawn from this tournament is the fact that the defeat has come at an ‘early’ stage of preparation.

Jude, a gold medal winner in the competition when he was part of the 1991 Azlan Shah Cup under Balkrishan Singh, was practical in his views.

“We are preparing for the Olympics. So, it’s better that these things happen at an early stage, than happen closer to the Olympics. If the mistakes happen closer to the Olympics, it would be disastrous. That is the only positive I can get from the tournament,” said Jude after India lost to Malaysia 2-3.

Hovering on the sloppy defense that cost India a late goal, he said the ample opportunities missed during the game cost the match more than the late goal.

“More than the last goal that we conceded, it is about the opportunities we wasted. Had we capitalized on them, we would not have been in that position. In today’s hockey, miss the chances you create and you end up in a situation like this. The problem is not scoring in front. We need to be sharper in the D. Also, the other problem was not converting the penalty corner,” he said.

With the loss in this match, India is already out of contention for Sunday’s final. They have two more matches to go against Canada on April 9, followed by match against defending champions Australia on April 11.

“We will have to go down to the board again and start working all over again now. It is a part of the learning curve,” he added.