Bhubaneswar: Holders and two-time champions India play six-time champions Germany in a mouth-watering 2021 Men’s FIH Hockey Junior World Cup semi-final match on December 3 (Friday) at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
After a rough start to the tournament in which they were defeated 4-5 by France, India improved dramatically to reach their second straight Junior World Cup quarterfinal.
On Wednesday, India put on a defensive masterclass to beat European powers Belgium 1-0, with Yashdeep Siwach, vice-captain Sanjay Kumar, and Shardanand Tiwai shining well in the backline. While Germany eked out a narrow 3-1 win over Spain in the shoot-out after both the teams were locked at 2-2 in regulation time.
“You never rule Germany out, whatever the situation. They have proven that over the years,” said Reid about the opponent which has 10 podium finishes in 11 appearances, said India chief coach Graham Reid highlighting out the young Germans’ strength.
India’s key goal against Belgium was to keep its defence intact; similarly, resisting the German raiders until the very last second will be the top aim in today’s semifinals.
With four strong penalty corner specialists in their ranks — Sanjay, Tiwari, Araijeet Singh Hundal, and Abhishek Lakra — India’s strength would hopefully dominate over Germans’ PC strength.
Although, the Germans, on the other hand, would be a tough nut to crack, since they would be attempting to recapture the world title after an eight-year absence. Germany last won the Junior World Cup title in 2013 in New Delhi but since then, a third place finish in the last edition in Lucknow in 2016 was the best they could achieve.
Germany’s domination in the Men’s FIH Hockey Junior World Cup is such that this is their 11th semi-final appearance in 12 editions, and they had previously been in seven finals, winning six of them. The only time they didn’t make it to the final four was in the 2005 edition, which was place in the Netherlands.
Except for Germany and India, no other team has won the Men’s FIH Hockey Junior World Cup more than once. As a result, the second semi-final of the Men’s FIH Hockey Junior World Cup 2021 pits the two most successful teams against each other.
Meanwhile in the other semifinal, France will be up against Argentina who got the better of Netherlands 2-1 in the last 8. France thumped Malaysia 4-0 to reach the last 4.
Junior Hockey World Cup 2021 Semifinal (IND- GER) Telecast Info
Semifinal Date: Friday, December 3
7:30 PM IST: India vs Germany
Live Telecast: Star Sports Network
India vs Germany – Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1HD
Live Streaming: Disney+HotStar and watch.hockey
