The last time New Zealand faced off against the Indian men’s hockey team was in the crossover stage of the World Cup last year.
In front of a packed Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, the hosts took a 2-0 lead early in the second quarter, but the Black Sticks played out of their skin to make it 3-3 at the end of regulation time and eventually grabbed the win via penalty shoot-outs to break the hearts of the Indian fans.
It was a massive blow to the hosts but New Zealand were ecstatic and they will be looking to repeat the feat at the Olympics on Saturday when the two teams play their opening game at Stade Yves-du-Manoir in Colombes near Paris.
Speaking ahead of the game, Sean Findlay, who won the player of the match award in Bhubaneswar, expectedly sounded quite excited about the upcoming encounter.
“It’s a cool opportunity for both India and New Zealand. Obviously doing well in the first match will prepare us well for the rest of the group matches heading towards the quarterfinals,” said Findlay from Paris earlier this week.
“From previous experiences, we know they will be very tight and they can go both ways. But we are hoping to get the job done and grab all the three points.”
Asked whether their win during the World Cup will have any bearing on Saturday’s encounter, Fundlay said, “We know India will come out and try to get their revenge. They will try to get one better on us after we knocked them out of the World Cup. As far as the actual game is concerned, it will be high tempo and New Zealand will have to put out a complete team performance. And a couple of individuals will have to step up and play crucial parts in big moments.”
Hopefully, they will be able to do that because New Zealand coach Nicol would surely like to grab a win against his former South Africa teammate and current India coach Craig Fulton.
Speaking ahead of the encounter, Nicol said from Paris, “It’s exciting to face off against India in the first match of the Olympics. They are the bronze medallists from Tokyo Olympics. There should be a great atmosphere and a great start to the tournament. We also had a classic encounter at the World Cup, and we haven’t played since.”
And helping him out will be Gregg Clarke, who was part of India’s support staff during the World Cup and Tokyo Olympics and is also well acquainted with both Nicol and Fulton, having played with them for South Africa.
“We didn’t bring him into the squad just because of the India match but he obviously trained a lot of these players and has a lot of knowledge on who will be playing on Saturday. It’s of course very valuable for us and hopefully it’s the 1% that we need to hopefully earn the win,” Nicol added.
Well, it’s hard to say whether his wish will come true or not on Saturday but what’s certain is it will be quite a memorable affair.
In front of a packed Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, the hosts took a 2-0 lead early in the second quarter, but the Black Sticks played out of their skin to make it 3-3 at the end of regulation time and eventually grabbed the win via penalty shoot-outs to break the hearts of the Indian fans.
It was a massive blow to the hosts but New Zealand were ecstatic and they will be looking to repeat the feat at the Olympics on Saturday when the two teams play their opening game at Stade Yves-du-Manoir in Colombes near Paris.
Speaking ahead of the game, Sean Findlay, who won the player of the match award in Bhubaneswar, expectedly sounded quite excited about the upcoming encounter.
“It’s a cool opportunity for both India and New Zealand. Obviously doing well in the first match will prepare us well for the rest of the group matches heading towards the quarterfinals,” said Findlay from Paris earlier this week.
“From previous experiences, we know they will be very tight and they can go both ways. But we are hoping to get the job done and grab all the three points.”
Asked whether their win during the World Cup will have any bearing on Saturday’s encounter, Fundlay said, “We know India will come out and try to get their revenge. They will try to get one better on us after we knocked them out of the World Cup. As far as the actual game is concerned, it will be high tempo and New Zealand will have to put out a complete team performance. And a couple of individuals will have to step up and play crucial parts in big moments.”
Hopefully, they will be able to do that because New Zealand coach Nicol would surely like to grab a win against his former South Africa teammate and current India coach Craig Fulton.
Speaking ahead of the encounter, Nicol said from Paris, “It’s exciting to face off against India in the first match of the Olympics. They are the bronze medallists from Tokyo Olympics. There should be a great atmosphere and a great start to the tournament. We also had a classic encounter at the World Cup, and we haven’t played since.”
And helping him out will be Gregg Clarke, who was part of India’s support staff during the World Cup and Tokyo Olympics and is also well acquainted with both Nicol and Fulton, having played with them for South Africa.
“We didn’t bring him into the squad just because of the India match but he obviously trained a lot of these players and has a lot of knowledge on who will be playing on Saturday. It’s of course very valuable for us and hopefully it’s the 1% that we need to hopefully earn the win,” Nicol added.
Well, it’s hard to say whether his wish will come true or not on Saturday but what’s certain is it will be quite a memorable affair.
