India men's hockey team head coach has said that he is expecting a better defensive performance from his unit when they take on New Zealand in the crossover stage of the Hockey World Cup 2023 on Sunday.
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Statement:
"We have played them earlier (during the FIH Hockey Pro League), we need to tighten our defence but it's more set now compared to Pro League. I expect a stronger defensive performance tomorrow."
They (New Zealand) have nothing to lose. The pressure is on us but I've said this before that if we play well and execute our chances we can beat any team," said Reid.
"While it is disappointing for Hardik and he was in good form, we have enough talent in the group and Raj Kumar Pal who comes in has done well for the team earlier this year and we are quite confident of a good show," said Reid.
"I agree we haven't converted the chances, but we can't let that pressure us. We need to look at executing in every opportunity we create. We can't let that frustrate us and we just need to work on getting it right," concluded Reid.
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Penalty Corner conversion has been a worry for India in the tournament with captain Harmanpreet Singh converting only just one opportunity. The India skipper said that it should put pressure on the team.
