Bhubaneswar, Jan. 14 -- India coach Graham Reid was effusive in his praise for India's strong defensive performance against Spain in their opening encounter of the ongoing FIH Odisha Men's Hockey World Cup at the Birsa Munda Stadium in Rourkela on Friday. India won the match convincingly by a 2-0 margin.

Reid could not stop smiling after the game.

"It is our best defensive performance since the Tokyo Olympics," said Reid after the match.

Before the match in Rourkela, India had conceded a total of 44 goals in their last 10 encounters dating back to the final of the Commonwealth Games against Australia. In between, they played Spain twice and ended up conceding five goals in those games.

However, the team showed remarkable improvement a...