The Netherlands striker Taeke Taekema, who is the World Cup’s joint leading scorer so far tells espnstar.com that personal milestones mean nothing.

By Rajarshi Gupta

Distraught after losing the semi-finals 1-2 to Australia, Taeke Taekema has still enough left in him to restore some pride for the Netherlands, who were knocked out of the title race in a close semi-final.

Currently on top of the pile of goal-scorers with Australia's Like Doerney, the Dutch number 10 spoke exclusively to espnstar.com after the tense clash on Thursday. Excerpts

Rajarshi Gupta: You must be aware that the Netherlands were the crowd favourites after India failed to make it to the last-four.

Taeke Taekema: Yes, we were all pretty excited with the support the team has got in India. In fact, the team always find support wherever we travel but in India, it was just brilliant and that's why this defeat (against Australia) will hurt for some time to come.

RG: But you have some other battles to win. You can still beat England to be number three.

TT: Oh yes. That will be a huge match too. England have been wonderful in the World Cup and they will be a tough unit to break. However, we need to recharge our batteries and come back strongly after this defeat.

RG: Not bad, you are already shaping for the next match.

TT: (Pauses) I am not thinking of the England match that much. The emotions from the semi-final are still pretty high. We made some mistakes in the semis and we need to correct them but the team has played brilliant hockey in the tournament. There is no reason why we should not repeat that against England.

RG: Are video referrals here to stay?

TT: The referrals were meant to serve a purpose and the purpose was to make as many correct decisions as possible. But I think they are breaking the rhythm of the game and slowing it down. This is no criticism but a suggestion for the FIH to ponder over.

The amount of time it takes for a team to appeal and a correct decision to be made is too long. I hope that gets looked at as we move forward. There is nothing wrong with the motive but it's just that there are certain things that can be changed about it.

RG: But the entire team looked out of rhythm against Australia and video referrals had very little to do with it. You were just not as fluent on the field as you have been.

TT: Well, we had made some tactical changes for the semis. The team had decided not to take any chances and keep the Aussies away from the game by engaging high-balls between ourselves. That did not work somehow and they were just too good on the day. The boys tried to fight Australia hard, though.

RG: You took a penalty stroke when the Dutch were trailing by two goals and there was still a chance for you to take the game to extra time. What were you going through?

TT: I was tensed and it was not easy taking that stroke. I knew if I scored, we still had time to try for another one and take the game beyond regulation time. There were so many things going through my mind but I was relieved to see the ball hit the back of the nets.

RG: Lastly, there is a huge personal incentive. You are tied with Like Doerned for the highest number of goals (seven) in the tournament. Both of you have a match each to play. You can overtake him.

TT: I don't have any personal ambitions. I have been the highest scorer in some of the major tournaments in the world so there is no greed of reaching a particular target. I will be happy if I don't score and the team wins. We play to win and that is what drives us.