New Delhi: The Indian Colts’ desire to finish on the podium at the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2023, which is set to begin exactly a month from now – on December 5th, has been boosted by their victory in their bronze medal match against archrivals Pakistan.
The prestigious event will feature 16 teams competing for honours, divided into 4 Pools. India are placed in Pool C, along with Spain, Korea, and Canada. Argentina, Australia, Chile, and hosts Malaysia are in Pool A, while Germany, France, South Africa, and Egypt are in Pool B, and the Netherlands, Belgium, Pakistan, and New Zealand are in Pool D. The Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team will begin their campaign against Korea on 5th December. They will play Spain on 7th December and Canada on 9th December.
The Indian Junior Men’s Team finished 11th Sultan of Johor Cup 2023 with a Bronze medal after defeating Pakistan 3-3 (6-5 SO) in the 3rd/4th place match.
The tournament served as a good preparation for the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2023, as they faced several world-class teams like Germany, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Pakistan. “The team has performed well,” Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team Coach CR Kumar said, before adding, “However, I wouldn’t call it satisfying because there are some things we could have done better.”
“We will now return to Bangalore and use the weeks leading up to the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2023 to improve and sharpen the areas we identified during this performance in Johor Bahru. This tournament also provided us with insight into the performances of other teams that will compete in the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2023, and we will plan our strategies accordingly,” he added.
The Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team qualified for the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2023 after defeating arch-rivals Pakistan 2-1 in the Final of the 2023 Men’s Hockey Junior Asia Cup, which was held in Salalah, Oman.
