Chennai, Dec 9: The dream of reclaiming the FIH Men’s Junior World Cup title might have been over, but hosts India will hope to at least finish on the podium and give the home fans something to cheer when they take on Argentina in the bronze medal match here on Wednesday.
India, who won their last title nine years back in 2016 in Lucknow, lost 1-5 to seven-time champions and title holders Germany in the semifinals on Sunday.
Heartbroken at missing out the title yet again, India would look to regroup, make amends of their mistakes and at least finish with a medal in the home tournament.
Two-time champions Argentina will, however, be a tough customer for India and they have already showed their prowess in the tournament.
Argentina, who won the title in 2005 and 2021, lost 1-2 in a closely contested semifinal against Spain and they too are hurt and desperate to finish the tournament on a high.
The Indians were simply hammered by the ruthless Germans in the semifinals. The home team simply buckled under pressure and conceded soft goals, which they can’t afford on Wednesday against Argentina if they want to stand on the podium.
The Indian backline was guilty of giving away possession easily, resulting in goals, while the forwards cut a sorry figure in front of the Germans after a superb show in the pool stages against lowly opponents.
The likes of Dilraj Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Sourabh Anand Kushwaha, Gurjot Singh and Ajeet Yadav created a lot of chances but simply failed to convert them into goals against the Germans.
India’s chief coach PR Sreejesh too admitted that his side failed to execute their plans and committed silly mistakes that ultimately put paid to their tile hopes.
“We committed silly mistakes, conceded goals and it is quite hard for these guys after conceding easy goals in a Junior World Cup semifinal. If you fail to execute your plans then that definitely is going to hurt yo,” Sreejesh had said after the loss against Germany.
“Winning and losing matters a lot, it doesn’t matter if you lose 1-0 or 10-0, it’s the same but the problem is how we concede the goals. We need to focus on that first.
“It’s all about collective effort. You need to defend well first and then you need to attack and create opportunities. We are not converting our opportunities,” he added.
The Indian defence, led by skipper Rohit, will have to raise their game by leaps and bounds to control the Argentines.
The midfield too lacked cohesion against Germany the other day and the likes of Rosan Khujur, Ankit Pal, Manmeet Singh, Adrohit Ekka and Thounaojam Ingalemba Luwang will have to be more proactive and cohesive to create chances for the strikers.
Penalty corner is another area which continues to be India’s perennial problem.
Anmol Ekka scored India’s lone goal against Germany through a penalty corner, but skipper Rohit, India’s best bet from drag-flicks, simply couldn’t make his mark in the tournament from set pieces.
There is no question about his solid defensive skills but India expected more from Rohit from penalty corners.
Princedeep Singh has been the stand-out performer at the Indian goal and the hosts will expect the young Punjab goalkeeper to continue his fine showing.
Meanwhile, Germany will be looking for their eighth title when they take on Spain in the summit clash, also on Wednesday. (PTI)
India’s match at 5.30 pm.
