New Delhi: India's quest for a maiden Commonwealth Games title remained unfulfilled after losing to Australia in the final but goalkeeper P R Sreejesh feels they have become mentally more stronger now and have shown great improvement in the just-concluded quadrennial event.
India lost 0-4 to world champions Australia in the final of the Glasgow Games and squandered yet another chance to avenge upon their 0-8 thrashing at the hands of the same opponents in the 2010 Delhi edition of the Games.
"We were not thinking about the Delhi Games final (going into yesterday's match). We have played Australia in the recent past and while we lost 0-4 in the World Cup, the margin was 2-4 in the league match of the Glasgow CWG. It shows that we are improving and can beat top teams like Australia in future," Sreejesh told PTI Bhasha from Glasgow.
"Indian players are mentally stronger now. We are not at the desired level but we have improved for sure. We have shown that in the semi-final against New Zealand in the manner we came back and won despite conceding two early goals," he said.
Sreejesh feels India should now focus on winning more against higher ranked opponents.
"We should focus on beating world ranked 3rd and 4th teams. This is a young side and will play with more confidence after gaining experience at the top level," he said.
He said that India were well deserved silver medalist in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
"We have played with consistency and were deserved finalist. This medal will inspire us to do better and instill the confidence that we can achieve podium finishes at the top level," said Sreejesh.
Sreejesh said the next goal for India now is to win the gold medal in the upcoming Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.
"We want to maintain the rhythm. The results show that our preparation is going on the right direction but we have to maintain consistency," he said.
Asked about India`s weak links, he said the team should avoid conceding goals in the initial stages of a game.
"We were used to conceding goals in dying moments but in this tournament we have given some silly goals in early minutes. We have to work on this. Our penalty corner conversion was better (here) but we will have to work harder," said the ace goalkeeper.
Asked if the team was more aggressive in the semi-final against New Zealand due to the suspension of captain Sardar Singh, he said: "We have prepared to play in such a way that the absence of any key player could not affect our performance. Our coaches should be given credit for that. We did not let Sardar's absence affect our performance."
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