Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], October 3 (ANI): Indian men's hockey veteran Mandeep Singh expressed his team's commitment to stay at their best during the gold medal clash against Malaysia and the need for the team to stick to their "best hockey and basics".
After the Indian women's team made history with a gold medal win and Los Angeles 2028 Olympics qualification, the men's team, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, will also be eyeing to do the same, defending their gold medal for the first time ever.
In a video posted by Hockey India, Mandeep spoke on playing his third Asian Games final and bringing a third gold medal home for himself, saying it could be a "huge individual achievement".
India’s most-capped hockey player Manpreet Singh is set to feature in his third Asian Games Final, with an opportunity to become the only Indian player to win three Asian Games gold medals. 🔥🥇
With India ready to face Malaysia in the title clash today, Manpreet speaks about… pic.twitter.com/NTv7W4vWv1
"It feels really good. I have been playing hockey for 15 years now. We already have two gold medals, and if we get the third, it will definitely be a huge individual achievement. It is also a big deal for the team to bring home another hockey medal, and I am very happy about it," he said.
Speaking on the team's semifinal clash against arch-rivals Pakistan, Mandeep said that the team played well but made some errors in the second half for which they were punished. The match ended in a 4-3 win for India with a last-minute goal for India. He also expressed happiness at how India did not give up till the last minute and was prepared for everything.
Manpreet also said that no team will be underestimated and the effort will be to continue doing what good the team has been doing and give Malaysia as few chances to punish them.
"I think it is very positive. Everyone knows we played well in the semifinal. We had a good first half. In the second half, we made a few defensive errors, and they punished us for them. But even after that, the good thing was that no one gave up. Everyone was determined to give 100 per cent until the final whistle. Whatever the result would be, we were ready to accept it. If it ended in a draw, we were prepared for a shoot-out because we have very good shoot-out takers, and we had full faith that we would do well," he said.
"After that, everything is positive. We did a lot of things right in the semifinal. But the next match against Malaysia is very important. They are a good team, and we shouldn’t underestimate them. Especially when you come to big events like this, semifinals and finals are always crucial because every team comes to give their best. So, we would not underestimate any team. Our goal for the final is to give our best, play our good hockey, continue doing what we have been doing well, and give Malaysia as few opportunities as possible to punish us," he added.
On mentoring young players about dealing with pressure and facing the same pressure as veteran players, Mandeep said, "This is something that the other seniors and Paddy Upton (mental conditioning coach) often talk about. We always emphasise staying in the present and not thinking about the future. If you start thinking about the result before the match even begins, you end up making mistakes and errors. So, our focus is always to stay in the present moment. If mistakes happen, we cover them as a team."
He also said that the players are told to stick to their basics and give their best without any stress.
"We remind everyone to stick to their best hockey and keep doing the basics right. Give your best and enjoy every moment, because you play hockey out of passion and love for the sport. On such big stages, just stay easy, don’t take mental stress, and play with a cool mind," he signed off. (ANI)
