Dilip Tirkey: We got a lot of chances but wasted one after the other

NEW DELHI: As India lost the crossover match against New Zealand to bow out of the Hockey World Cup title race, a disappointed Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey said that the team wasted a lot of chances.

India twice allowed New Zealand to come back from behind -- led 2-0 first and then 3-1 -- as the match ended 3-3 after 60 minutes. India eventually lost 4-5 in sudden death to suffer shock exit.

"We got a lot of chances to win the match. We have been talking that penalty corners are very important to win matches, but we wasted one after the other," Tirkey, also a former captain and one of the best defenders of his time, said in a video on his Twitter handle.



"After that, we got the chance to win in the penalty shootout. We got two chances. Our goalkeepers saved twice in sudden death and we had the chance to win, that also we wasted," he said without criticising the team.



Tirkey, the most capped India player with 412 international matches, said the team has learnt a lot from the defeat.




"I hope that we do well in the next match."