Indian men’s hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh exuded confidence ahead of their Pool B campaign opener against New Zealand at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Saturday.

Speaking about New Zealand in particular, they have been a strong opponent for India, and memories of their 3-3 (4-5 shootout) result at the FIH World Cup in Bhubaneswar last year are a reminder to not get complacent against them, “We have always seen New Zealand as a strong opponent and have discussed this team in detail during our team briefs. It is good to be reminded of the World Cup match against them, so we know we can’t drop the momentum at any point in the game. It’s important for us to start well and keep up the pressure through the game,” said Harmanpreet.