Our target is winning Asian Games, CWG, Hockey World Cup 2023: Manpreet lays down hockey team's long-term plan

New Delhi, Aug 10: Indian Men's Hockey team captain Manpreet Singh has hailed the bronze medal win in Tokyo Olympics as a watershed moment for hockey in the country. His team defeated Germany in the bronze medal match as India won its first Olympic medal in hockey after the 1980 Summer Games.

Team India lost two games in its campaign in the Olympics, first a 1-7 thrashing at the hands of Australia, and second, a 2-5 defeat against eventual champions Belgium in the semi-finals. Belgium defeated Australia in the final to clinch gold.

While interacting with reporters in an open media session after returning from Tokyo, Manpreet claimed none of his teammates was born at the time of the 1980 Olympics so his team's podium finish will inspire the next generation to pick up hockey.

"It is a great feeling. None of us was born during the 1980 Moscow Olympics, so it feels great that we finally ended the medal drought. Our podium finish will definitely inspire and motivate the youngsters to play hockey for India and win the medal at the Olympics," Manpreet said.

Talking about the disappointment of loss against Belgium in the semi-final, Manpreet said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's words of encouragement worked wonders and instilled positive energy in the players.

"We were all very disappointed after the loss against Belgium in the semis because we wanted to play for the gold medal but that didn't happen as we lost. Then PM Modi called us and said 'all of you played well and don't be disappointed, just focus on your game and the next match and the entire country is proud of you all. It gave us positive energy and then we had a players' meeting. We said we have got one more chance and if we return empty-handed, we will have that regret all our lives.

"We said to ourselves that we have 60 minutes in our hands and if we give our best in these 60 minutes we can return home with smiles on our faces," Manpreet added further.

At one stage Team India was leading 2-1 against Belgium in the semi-finals but the Red Devils came back strongly and took a 4-2 lead in the second half of the game to take it away from India's grip.

When asked how difficult it is to play against a quality side like Belgium, Manpreet said, "They are a great side. They ended up winning the final as well. We took a 2-1 lead against them but they came back strongly as a team to change the scoreline. After taking the lead, we committed a few mistakes on the turf, which cost us dearly because teams like these don't give you many chances. So we'll be working hard in this department in the days to come and look to take our game a notch up."

When asked about the team's target for the 2024 Paris Olympics, the 29-year-old midfielder said, "Definitely we are going to target an even better show in Paris but before that, we are going to celebrate the bronze medal win. Once our camp starts we'll go back to the drawing board and discuss the areas we need to improve because there are quite a few important tournaments next year like the Asian Games which will act as the qualification for the Olympics and then we have Commonwealth Games and the Hockey World Cup 2023 which will be held in India."

Manpreet - who got married in December 2020 - hasn't met his wife Illi Najwah Saddique, who is a Malaysian national of Pakistani origin, for the last six months as had been preparing for the Olympics.

When this reporter asked about when he's going to see his wife the Jalandhar-based athlete said, "She's in Malaysia. I am not sure when we'll next see each other in flesh and bones."