This is for the future: Harjeet

A clinical India defeated Belgium 2-1 in the summit clash on Sunday to reclaim the title after a gap of 15 years. Harjeet thanked his teammates for the superb show and complemented the packed Major Dyan Chand Astroturf stadium here for support throughout the tournament. 

“I would like to thank all the players who aimed to win this trophy. Everybody has put in a lot of hard work under discipline. We all had one aim and we thankfully managed to achieve that today,” an emotional Harjeet said at the post-match press conference. 

“The crowd support gave us a lot of confidence but we played according to our structure which we have been implementing for the last twoand-a-half years. This team is going to give a lot of joy to you all in the future,” said. 

Harjeet said they approached the match as any other game and just concentrated on performing their duties on the turf. “We all knew what we have to do in the field, everyone knew their duties. We just concentrated on that and played simple hockey. We played the final like a final.” “We were leading by two goals and our planning was to sit back and defend and rely on counters. We played according to our plan. Every player put in energy,” he said. 

India’s coach Harendra Singh said he was assured of winning the trophy when he took over reigns of the team in 2014. “In April 2014, I had said that we are going to win the trophy, you can ask these boys,” he said. “Today’s heroes are the players and I won’t take the limelight. These are 18 golden gems of India and today is their day.”