Indian junior men’s hockey team leaves for the World Cup

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Bengaluru. The Indian junior men’s hockey team departed from the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru on Saturday to participate in the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2023, which will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from December 5-16. ,

India finished fourth in the previous edition of the tournament after losing to France in the third/fourth place match, which was held in Bhubaneswar, India in 2021.

India have been placed in Pool C along with Spain, Korea and Canada, while defending champions Argentina have been placed in Pool A along with Chile, Australia and hosts Malaysia. Germany, France, South Africa and Egypt have been placed in Pool B while the competition will be between Netherlands, New Zealand, Belgium and Pakistan in Pool D.

The Indian men’s hockey team will begin its campaign against Korea on December 5. Their next match will be against Spain on 7 December and the last match of the pool stage will be against Canada on 9 December. India will have to finish in the top two in Pool C to secure their entry into the quarter-finals. , Captain Uttam Singh will be assisted by vice-captain Arijit Singh Hundal in his bid to make a successful comeback from the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2023.

Indian junior men’s hockey team captain Uttam Singh shared his thoughts about their upcoming campaign, saying, “Last time we faced the bitter disappointment of losing the 3rd/4th place match to France, but the team bounced back “And the relationship between each other has strengthened. The team is stronger than ever. Like always, the team will take it match by match, we will try to give our best on the field and hopefully India will bring back the medal. ‘

Vice-captain Arijit Singh Hundal echoed the captain’s views, saying, “The team has evolved a lot since the last World Cup. We won the Sultan of Johor Cup 2022 and the Men’s Junior Asia Cup and also recently finished third in the Sultan of Johor Cup 2023. So, we know that we are capable of winning the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2023, it is just a matter of performing to the best of our abilities when the time comes.

The Indian team, which was preparing for the World Cup, had to face changes in the team composition due to unexpected circumstances. Shardanand Tiwary, who was initially part of the 18-man squad, had to withdraw due to illness and was replaced by Sukhwinder. Sukhwinder’s entry into the team has resulted in Yogember Rawat being added as a replacement athlete for the event.

–IANS

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