Disappointed with India's performance in the 1-2 loss to New Zealand today, team's coach Roelant Oltmans said his side failed to produce the energy it had exhibited so far in the 25th Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament here.
"I'm obviously disappointed with the loss. We had our chances that we could not convert," Oltmans said.
"The hot and humid conditions took a lot out of the boys and we were not able to get the energy we had shown in our earlier matches," said Oltmans, who praised the rival for overcoming the conditions better.
"I have a lot of respect for New Zealand, who've played three matches in the afternoon during the past four days," said Oltmans.
The mercury in Ipoh had crossed 37 degrees Celsius, and it was much hotter on the pitch with the heat from the watered turf making the players' task tougher.
"The execution of penalty corners suffered because of the humid conditions. The slippery hands were not able to perform the perfect job," Oltmans said about the two penalty corners in the second-half when India went about looking for the equaliser.
New Zealand's coach Colin Batch said his players showed good signs and the reward was a victory over India.
"I am told that yesterday was hot, and today was hotter. The players only get some relief when the sun goes behind the clouds," said Batch. "Both teams deserve full credit to be able to play a good game. In international hockey, you have to possess the ball. We did not do that very well for a period in the second-half, but came back strongly to dictate the game in the last quarter," said Batch, whose team is among the four that have qualified for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Batch said his players now get two days to recover from the effects of the stamina-sapping conditions before the medal play-offs on Sunday. "Whether we play in the final or not is out of our hands. We will closely observe the results on Friday," he said.
Comments
SHARE