Champions Trophy Hockey: India Failed to Convert Chances vs Pakistan, Says Oltmans

India's High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans blamed his side's 3-4 defeat against arch-rivals Pakistan on wasting numerous scoring opportunities in the high-voltage second semifinal of the Hero Champions Trophy hockey tournament, here on Saturday. (Match report | Match highlights)

India wasted chances galore which cost them dearly. The Indians created opportunities but Sardar Singh, Nikkin, SV Sunil and Ramandeep Singh all misfired on numerous occasions from clear opening. (Also read: Pakistan players erupt in obscene celebrations, taunt fans | In pics)

India looked nervous at the beginning which showed in their performance. The Indians were sloppy as they kept losing the ball frequently.

"I can't say what went wrong. I can only say what went right. The one thing that went wrong is that they scored more goals than we did," a visibly disappointed Oltmans said.

"If you look at the number of chances we had more chances. In the first half we didn't play to our level what we have shown in earlier matches of the tournament. The second half was much better. We created a lot of opportunities but we didn't take our opportunities. Sardar himself had a good chance, Manpreet had a good chance. I think at that period we really had opportunities to score more goals," he said.

Oltmans said his wards had plenty of work to do if they wish to perform in key matches.

"We had made mistakes that we had done earlier. In phases we are not playing to our potential and that we have to learn how to keep possession, how to close a game. We have discussed these but you have to execute that on the pitch," he said.

"We were clearly the better side in the last quarter. We conceded two simple goals and that a very important lesson for the future.

Oltmans refused to buy the theory that fatigue played a part in India's defeat.

"All these boys are very fit. Fitness is absolutely not an issue. Fatigue not for me is the reason," the legendary Dutchman said.

Pakistan will now face Olympic champions Germany in the summit clash tomorrow, while India will play world champions Australia for the bronze medal.

And Oltmans said India need to forget the past and look at the future.

"This game is over. We cannot play this game anymore. Within 20 hours we have to play another game. We need to recover as quickly as possible. We need to find positives from this match," he said.

"We play against Australia tomorrow. They are a tough opponent but we will fight our heart out tomorrow to win the medal."

India captain Sardar Singh agreed with his coach and said they need to recover quickly for tomorrow's test.

"Up and downs are part of life. But we did not play to our potential today. We had plenty of chances but we did not capitalize on them. This loss is a lesson for us," he said.

"As the coach said we need to lift our spirits quickly because we have a chance to win a medal tomorrow," he said.