Kuala Lumpur: The Indian colts are set to face the formidable Germany in the semi-final of the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Malaysia 2023, on Thursday, December 14 here.
In the previous matches, India secured a 4-2 victory against Korea, suffered a 4-1 defeat to Spain, and bounced back with a commanding 10-1 win over Canada, ultimately securing a second-place finish in Pool C. India triumphed over the Netherlands in a thrilling quarter-final clash, staging a come from behind 4-3 win.
"We are now used to playing under pressure. Be it the Asia Cup final against Pakistan or the bronze Medal match in the Sultan of Johor Cup, we have played and won under pressure. It's something we have worked on and we have developed a skill set. It also helps that five players from the existing team were part of the previous Junior World Cup, so our experience also comes in handy,” captain Uttam Singh was quoted as saying in a media statement.
The Indian junior men's hockey team has faced Germany four times this year and has lost on all four occasions. Their last defeat came in the semi-finals of the Sultan of Johor Cup 2023 3-6. India faltered to Germany by 2-4 in the semi-finals of the FIH Odisha hockey men's junior World Cup Bhubaneswar 2021.
Captain Uttam Singh is confident of a good performance. "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. We don't want to just be participants at the world events. We want to win it and we play with that motivation. So we will use the remaining time to prepare ourselves for the match and ensure we give our best against Germany tomorrow," the Indian skipper concluded.
Also read
- Junior World Cup Hockey: Dominant India beat Netherlands 4-3 in a thrilling Quarter Finals encounter
- Junior World Cup Hockey: India to face Dutch test to book their semi-final spot
