Indian men's hockey team midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad rued the chance of playing the Final against Australia in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games as he suffered a knee injury ahead of the title clash.
The Indian Team settled for a Silver medal at the prestigious Games after losing 0-7 to Australia.
"I was devastated to miss the Commonwealth Games final against Australia. Making the Final of such a prestigious tournament is a big deal for any player. Having played a good campaign to reach the Final and then being ruled out of the summit clash due to injury was devastating for me," Vivek Sagar Prasad said.
"I really wanted to be there for my team on that particular day. However, this happens in sports. So, the only thing we can do now is to move on," he added.
This was Vivek Sagar's second outing at the Commonwealth Games. In 2018, at the Gold Coast CWG, Vivek was the youngest player on the squad. While it was an exciting outing for him as a 17-year-old, the team returned home without a medal.
"The CWG in 2018 was my first experience of a multi-discipline sporting event. I was quite young and really excited. But it was a disappointing outing for us as a team. This time, we were adamant about a good show but again, things did not go as planned in the Final," he said.
Having rested over the past few weeks, Vivek is all set to join his compatriots on Monday, when the National Camp commences in SAI, Bengaluru.
He said, "it was just a minor injury. Having rested well over the past weeks, I am eager to join my teammates in camp and begin our preparations for the Odisha Men's Hockey World Cup 2023 to be held in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela in January. I am sure the team's support staff will assess my recovery once I join the camp basis which they will plan my workload."
( With inputs from ANI )
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