Momentum on their side, motivated Indian men will look to deliver their best to defeat the great Germany and advance to the final of the Junior Men’s Hockey World Cup for the fourth time in the tournament’s history on Thursday. Men in Blue delivered a remarkable exhibition of grit and spirit to defeat the Netherlands, ranked fourth in the world, 4-3 in a thrilling quarterfinal on Tuesday. After trailing 0-2 at halftime and 2-3 in the third quarter, the Indians rallied to defeat the European powerhouse and advance to the semi-finals against the Germans.
The Indian Colts will battle against the formidable Germans in the semi-final on December 14 at 3:30 pm in Kuala Lumpur. India has faced Germany four times this year and has lost on all four occasions, with their last setback coming in the semifinals of the Sultan of Johor Cup (3-6). India also lost 2-4 against Germany in the semifinals of the 2021 men’s Junior World Cup in Bhubaneswar.
The Indians will be bursting with confidence after their come-from-behind victory, but they will need to take a defensive stance and focus more on their strength, which is attacking hockey. The Germans would be difficult to defeat since they rely mostly on maintaining a sturdy defensive structure and breaching the opponent’s citadel with quick counterattacks. India’s defense unit would be hoping to put up a better showing and avoid conceding too many penalty corners as the Germans are known for their precision from set pieces.
The dream of every player in the team is to win the final and we are working tirelessly towards that goal. The team is in good form and we know the strengths and weaknesses of Germany after facing them so many times, India’s skipper Uttam said. Five players from the existing team were part of the previous Junior World Cup, so our experience also comes in handy, Uttam added.
Team India’s chief coach C.R. Kumar is confident of putting one across the most successful team in history. We have played a lot more against Germany compared to other European teams but no tournament is the same as a World Cup. We have an idea of their game. The plans are there, we now have to execute them clinically and if we do that, the result will be in our favor. That’s all we are telling the players also, just stick to the plan and go ahead confidently, Kumar said during a media interaction on Wednesday.
