Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup: India eye victory over Poland to keep title defence alive

By
Shubhangi Chowdhury
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Bhubaneswar: Reigning champion India will try its hard and sole to register win over Poland in its last Pool B match of the men’s hockey Junior World Cup Today (November 27) at the Kalinga Stadium on Saturday in order to reach the quarterfinals smoothly.

The Indian colts staged a spectacular comeback against Canada on Thursday, winning by a score of 13-1 following a hard-fought loss against France. India had previously fallen to their French opponents by a score of 4-5 on Wednesday (November 24).

With one win and a defeat, now, the hosts, placed in second position in the pool with three points, and Poland, who are also in second place with three points, will try to derail India’s hopes, despite the fact that qualifying for the knockout round would be a troublesome job for the European squad. France, with an undefeated record so far, are set to top the pool.

Being aware of the do or die situation of India, Chief coach Graham Reid said, “We can’t do anything about that now (defeat to France). If we have to win back-to-back titles, we will have to beat every team henceforth.

“We will not like to think ahead of us, we have a match against Poland before that and that’s what we will be thinking about. We have to win that before we think about the next stage,” added Reid.

However looking at the positive aspects, Reid stated that  “It is a learning experience for the boys. Every match is one experience. That’s what I have always been telling the senior players as well.”

The home squad will be encouraged by their battling attitude, which allowed them close the gap against France in the last minutes.

Aside from that, India’s penalty corner conversion has been outstanding with . Vice captain and star drag flicker Sanjay Kumar, has been in brilliant form for the squad, scoring successive hat-tricks, while Uttam Singh has been the side’s go-to guy on the forwardline.

If that isn’t enough, the hosts may also rely on Araijeet Singh Hunda, who scored a hat-trick against Canada, and Abhishek Lakra, who is another key player for the win. If the Indian colts are in good form, the European squad might suffer a humiliating defeat in the pool B showdown.
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Other matches on Saturday include France’s match against Canada, Pakistan’s match against Egypt in Pool D, and South Africa will take on Malaysia in Pool A, followed by Belgium’s match against Chile.
Top two teams from four pools will qualify for the quarterfinals of the tournament, scheduled to begin from December 01.
When and Where to Watch:
All matches at the 2021 Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup will be broadcast on the Star Sports Network. Audiences can also live stream the Hockey World Cup on the Watch Hockey website (https://watch.hockey/). India’s play will begin from 19:30 (IST).

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