Looking to reclaim the crown after nine years, the Indian men's hockey team will have to raise the level of their game by leaps and bounds to prevail over seven-time champions and title holders Germany in the FIH Junior World Cup semifinal here on Sunday. Two-time champions India had last won the title in 2016 in Lucknow.
The Indians had a relatively easy pool outing, scoring 29 goals and conceding none against low-ranked sides like Chile, Oman and Switzerland to breeze into the quarterfinals.
But the PR Sreejesh-coached side faced its first real test against Belgium in the quarterfinals. India had to dig deep into their reservoir to eke out a 4-3 shootout win against Belgium after both the sides were locked 2-2 at the end of regulation time. India's defence was hardly tested in the pool stages, but against Belgium, it got a taste of what is awaiting them in the knockout stages against quality opponents.
It took a superlative effort from goalkeeper Princedeep Singh to keep India in the hunt. Princedeep not only made some fantastic saves in the regulation 60 minutes, but also effected two brilliant saves in the shootout to take India forward. Tiwari also stood out against Belgium, converting a goal in regulation time and scoring thrice from penalty spot in the shootout.
One thing which the coach would be happy about is penalty corner conversions as India's both goals in the regulation time against Belgium came from set pieces converted by Sharda Nand Tiwari and skipper Rohit Yadav.
Sreejesh was not at all happy with the team's performance against Belgium despite the win and asked his players to keep their "feet on the ground". "I sweetly made them understand that it was not the final. To keep your feet on the ground is most important and we need to focus on the next match," Sreejesh said after the Belgium match.
He listed the areas where India need to improve going ahead if they desire to reclaim the title. "...we expect the same performance from Germany too in the next match. So we have to raise our level according to the occasion. What we need to do is score and that's the most important thing," he said.
Come Sunday, the likes of Manmeet Singh, Dilraj Singh, Ajeet Yadav, Sourabh Anand Kushwaha and Arshdeep Singh can't afford to slip a bit against the mighty Germans, known for their ruthless game. "We need to get that final touch. Once you are inside the D, you can't give away ball possession," Sreejesh said.
The Indian backline too needs to pull up its socks. "It is a team game, the defence too needs to up their game and not concede soft penalty corners or give away possession. In hockey the first line of play starts from the defence," said the Indian coach.
Also read: Germany beat South Africa in FIH Junior WC opener
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