Kuala Lumpur, Dec 13: Momentum on their side, a determined India would look to overcome the mighty Germany to progress to the final of the Junior Men’s Hockey World Cup for the fourth time in the history of the tournament here on Thursday.
The Indians produced a spectacular display of grit and character to prevail over the Netherlands, ranked fourth in the world, in the quarterfinal on Tuesday with a thrilling 4-3 win.
Trailing 0-2 at half-time and 2-3 in the third quarter, the Indians exhibited immense resilience to beat the Dutch and set up a last-four clash against the Germans.
Skipper Uttam Singh led from the front, scoring the winner against the Netherlands three minutes from the hooter.
Uttam’s deputy Araijeet Singh Hundal too was up to the task, scoring twice in the match.
India captain Uttam said they are used to playing under pressure situations.
“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,” he said.
The Indians would be brimming with confidence following the come-from-behind win but they will have to a defensive approach and concentrate more on their strength, which is attacking hockey.
Against Netherlands the other day, the Indians went on the back foot and were defensive initially, which cost them dearly but they got their act together in time and played attacking hockey thereafter to secure the hard-fought win.
But the Germans would be a hard nut to crack as they mostly rely on maintaining a solid defensive structure and breach the opponent’s citadel through brisk counter attacks.
Against the Netherlands, the Indians produced a resolute performance with Rohit emerging as the shining light at the back line. He was solid in defence and blocked as many as six successive penalty corners in the final quarter to hand his side the victory.
But this is something which would be a cause for concern for India coach C R Kumar and he would be hoping his defence puts up a better showing and avoids conceding too many penalty corners as the Germans are known for their precision from set pieces.
India have faced Germany four times this year and have lost on all four occasions, with their last defeat 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 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,” Uttam said.
“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.” India coach CR Kumar is confident about his side, stating that Germany is not unbeatable.
“Germany are a strong team and we faced them in the Sultan of Johor Cup recently but with a slightly different squad and a different approach. We have analysed all the teams in the World Cup, Germany included, and the added learning from the previous matches against them will put us in a good position ahead of the game.
“The players know that Germany isn’t unbeatable, it’s a matter of executing the plan,” he said.
Meanwhile in the other semifinal, Spain will take on France. (PTI)
