Paris Olympics 2024: PR Sreejesh Calls New Zealand Match a 'Wake Up Call' for Team India

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In a nail-biting opener at the Paris Olympics, the Indian men's hockey team emerged victorious against New Zealand, securing a 3-2 win on Saturday. Skipper Harmanpreet Singh's decisive penalty stroke with just two minutes left sealed the game for India, marking a strong start to their campaign.

The match began with India trailing after New Zealand took an early lead. However, goals from Mandeep Singh and Vivek Sagar Prasad turned the tide, putting India ahead 2-1 by the third quarter. New Zealand's Simon Child leveled the scores at 2-2 with just over seven minutes remaining, setting the stage for Harmanpreet's late heroics.

Following the intense match, Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh shared his thoughts on the performance. "It's a good win, but we made mistakes, and it's a wake-up call for us," Sreejesh commented. "These matches will help us address our mistakes. This win is positive, and we will move forward with a positive mindset."

Sreejesh, who will retire after the Paris Olympics, Reflecting on the significance of the match, "Three points are important for us. When we conceded the first goal in the first quarter, we realized that we did not start the match the right way. New Zealand always has strong penalty corner takers in their team. We made a mistake by conceding a goal, but we made a comeback, scored, equalized, and controlled the game well."

After a thrilling last-minute victory over New Zealand thanks to Harmanpreet Singh. On Monday, July 29th, India is set to face the 2016 champions, Argentina.

Earlier in the day, Argentina started their campaign on a losing note, being defeated by the 2004 winner, Australia, in their opening Pool B match. Blake Govers (30') scored the only goal in the game from a penalty corner in the dying minutes of the second quarter to stage the win for the Kookaburras.