CWG 2022 | Hard to digest but need to move on: Harmanpreet Singh on India's hockey final loss

India lost 0-7 against Australia in the gold medal match of Commonwealth Games in Birmingham

The bitter loss to Australia in the Commonwealth Games final is "hard to digest" but the Indian hockey team will have to move on, said star drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh, promising a thread-bare analyse of the side's performance in Birmingham.

In one of its worst performances in recent times, India suffered an embarrassing 0-7 drubbing at the hands of defending champions Australia to settle for a silver medal on Sunday.

Here is the full list of Indian medal winners at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022

"It is hard to digest a loss by such a big margin," the India vice-captain said in a Hockey India (HI) release after returning to the country early on Wednesday morning.

"Definitely the entire team is disappointed by the way we played but it's important we move on from this bitter outing. Like Chief Coach mentioned, we lacked the energy and tempo required to match-up to a team like Australia." While the final was a forgettable experience, India marched into the summit clash on the back of some fine performances in the group stage as they beat Ghana 11-0, drew against England 4-4, beat Canada 8-0 and Wales 4-1 followed by a 3-2 win against South Africa in the semifinal.

"There are many lessons from this campaign that we can work on and improve upon. Every match we played will be analyzed thoroughly when we return to camp after a two week break and we will be starting from scratch," said Harmanpreet.

The 26-year-old from Amritsar was in sublime form through out the tournament as he scored nine goals and was the second highest goal scorer along with Wales' Gareth Furlong.