Men's Junior World Cup: Confident India ready for Belgium challenge in quarterfinals

Chennai, Dec 4 (IANS) The Indian junior men's hockey team will face traditional rivals Belgium in the quarterfinals of the prestigious FIH Hockey Men's Junior World Cup 2025 to be played at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium in Chennai, on Friday.

The PR Sreejesh-coached India side has been mercurial in the round-robin stage, notching up significant victories, albeit against sides that are not traditionally strong in hockey.

They beat Chile 7-0, Oman 17-0, and Switzerland 5-0. The team's goalkeepers have hardly been tested against these sides, while the team's attack has had a golden run, scoring a total of 29 goals -- the highest by any team in the tournament so far.

But against Belgium, they will be tested. The team came into the quarterfinals after finishing second in pool D, behind Spain. They beat Namibia 12-1 in their first match, lost to Spain 0-2, and beat Egypt 10-0.

In the 2021 Junior World Cup in Odisha, India beat Belgium in a 1-0 close encounter, and in the 2016 Junior World Cup in Lucknow, they beat Belgium 2-1.

Though the two junior sides haven't played each other much in recent times, both nations are powerhouses in hockey with strong domestic structure and U-21 programme - making the contest a feisty one.

Speaking about the match, Sreejesh said, "We are looking forward to a good contest. Belgium is a strong side, and our campaign truly starts now. The big wins in the round robin stage were needed to set the right momentum for the tournament and shake off any nerves of a big tournament.

I feel the players are ready for the challenge."

India Colts skipper Rohit too emphasised the team being upbeat. "For some of us, this is the second Junior World Cup, but for many in the team, they are playing this prestigious tournament for the first time, and naturally, there would be some nerves. But I think the way we have played the first three matches has given us confidence, and we know our potential. We will give it our all against Belgium," Rohit said.

India will play the quarterfinals in Chennai on December 5.

Earlier, the Indian junior men's hockey team eased its way into the quarterfinals of the Men's Junior World Cup after its unbeaten run in the round-robin league stage. On Tuesday, the team convincingly beat Switzerland 5-0 at the Madurai International Hockey Stadium.

--IANS

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