3 Debutantes who lit up FIH Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup

Bhubaneswar: The 12th edition of the Men’s FIH Hockey Junior World Cup recently concluded with hosts India coming fourth in the tournament, held at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, India from 24 November to 5 December. Argentina won their second title by defeating Germany in the final.

In the post lockdown scenario, the fans witnessed a great deal of hockey while some of the players outshined in their debut tournament.

SportslightMedia took insight to find out the top three gems who were too good to be called the debutante. Their performance throughout the tournament created headlines and once again proved the significance of a tournament for the juniors or the newcomers irrespective of field.

1. Miles Bukkens -18 Goals
Netherland player Bukkens topped the list of the highest goalscorer throughout the tournament as well as the debutant who caught everyone’s attention.

Bukkens had slammed a hat-trick to help the Netherlands beat Belgium 6-4 and end their campaign at the fifth position in the last encounter of the tournament. In fact, he scored in every single match of the event, contributing immensely in leading the Netherlands to the top-scoring team with a scintillating 45 goals.

2. Ali Rizwan – 8 goals
Although Pakistan had a disappointing tournament debutant Rizwan tried hard and soul to maintain the spirit of his country’s hockey and entered the list of the debutantes who scored the highest goals. The most memorable match from the tournament was the encounter of PAK- EGY.

Rizwan scored all three goals in Pakistan’s 3-1 win over Egypt in their group encounter. Drag-flicker Ali took advantage of penalty corners in the 19th, 32nd, and 53rd minutes to seal the victory.

3. Pau Cunill- 8 goals
Spanish debutant Cunill was no less throughout the tournament and created the headlines even if his team’s play was quite off. His brace ensured the seventh place finish for his team at the tournament.

Cunill scored eight goals for the Europeans during the campaign to help them achieve a top half of the table finish in the tournament. Although he started goallessly, paced up to score hattricks and more goals to enter this list.