Team India's veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh is of the opinion that being substituted with his fellow shot-stopper Krishna Pathak in alternate quarters of the ongoing matches of the FIH Hockey World Cup 2023 is a good strategy from the head coach Graham Reid.
Sreejesh and Pathan have been alternating in their first two Pool D matches against Spain and England. While Sreejesh manned the goal in the first and third quarters, Pathak did the same in the second and fourth quarters of the two matches.
"We wanted to prepare together for the next stages of the World Cup. If anytime, anything happens to one of the two goalkeepers, the other will have to be on his toes. So, that is a good strategy," Sreejesh said.
"We are exchanging in quarters. He is getting exposure while I have got enough experience. It is a good thing for the future," said the experienced campaigner.
India and England created enough chances for two games but failed to capitalise on them. England got eight penalty corners and none could be converted, and India also failed to score from the four PCs that they got.
"Somewhere, we need to look into that, where we can, what changes we can make in penalty corners or other goal-scoring opportunities. We must learn from the England match and prepare for the next game. Wales are a very good side, they gave a good fight against Spain. We will analyse their game and plan accordingly."
When questioned on why England dominated early in the match, Sreejesh said, "We had a very slow start that is why England capitalised on that in the first quarter. From the second quarter onwards we put pressure on them, we bounced back and created opportunities. In our pool, every match is crucial."
England and India are now on four points each from two matches and who tops the group and qualifies directly for the quarterfinals will be decided on Thursday when India plays Wales and England take on Spain. Both matches will be played at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
