This Match was like a Final for us: Manpreet Singh

Bhubaneswar: The moment was tense. More than 5000 people on their feet. A few hands went up in prayer as Harmanpreet Singh readied for the winner. In a matter of seconds, he netted the semi-final berth to India as it knock-outed out Belgium in the quarter-final.

The winning team captain Manpreet Singh is not less excited or less tense like the crowd on the stands. He likens to the match to the final.

“The match was like a final for us. We knew we had to win. In the last few matches, we had made a lot of mistakes. Today, our focus was on defense and counter-attack. Also, Rupinder and Harmanpreet converted penalty corners for us, which was a big plus point,” the skipper said after the match.

India, who had finished at the bottom of Pool B, were more attacking and created more chances in the match, unlike their previous encounters.

“We had a positive character against one of the best teams. We had the control over game. Though they came back to score, we were still better. With every match, we are getting better,” said coach Sjoerd Marijne.

“Our defence was strong and the structure remained intact. There were less mistraps and individually each one made less mistakes.”

India will play the winner of England and Argentina match in their semi-final.
India lost to Belgium in the semifinals of previous HWL Finals held in Raipur, India.