Hopefully, we can finish on top, says Indian hockey team goalkeeper Sreejesh

Sreejesh said results matter more than the number of times a player turns up for a marquee event like the World Cup

All set to play in his fourth FIH men's hockey World Cup and the third on home soil, veteran India goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh feels his team can do better than the quarterfinal exit in the last edition, and even finish on top of the podium this time.

The showpiece begins here on Friday.

India topped their pool after winning two matches and drawing one, but lost to eventual runners-up Netherlands 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the 2018 edition, which was played at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, one of the two venues this time.

"It is a great honour for me to play my fourth World Cup for our country and the special part is, this is my third World Cup on home soil. I don't think any player has had this privilege of playing three World Cups at home," Sreejesh said ahead of India's first Pool D match on Friday against Spain.

"In 2018, we couldn't go into semis. Now, we have one more opportunity to change our fortunes at this mega event. Hopefully we can improve our previous performance and finish on top," he said.

India has not finished on the podium in 48 years since winning the gold in 1975 edition in Kuala Lumpur under the captaincy of Ajit Pal Singh.

The 34-year-old experienced goalkeeper, the second most capped Indian player in the team after Manpreet Singh, said results matter more than the number of times a player turns up for a marquee event like the World Cup.