The Indian Junior Men’s team impressed everyone with their 1-0 win over Belgium in the Junior Hockey World Cup quarterfinals. The Blue Colts edged out heavyweights Belgium as Shardanand Tiwari’s solitary goal from a penalty corner powered India through to the semifinals of the Junior World Cup as they will now take on Germany.
Speaking ahead of the match, the Indian Junior team’s Australian head coach Graham Reid highlighted how Germany are one of the best teams in the junior circuit. “Germany have won this tournament more than any other team in the world. You saw Masi Pfandt scoring a late goal in their Quarter Final match against Spain. Germany are known for scoring late goals. They have done it historically with the senior group. It is in their DNA. They never give up, they keep moving the ball and they keep playing with the same intensity,” said Graham Reid.
However, Reid added that if India plays well then they will make way to the finals of the Junior World Cup. However, it will be a challenging contest for the youngsters against a quality German side.
The Indian team defended really well against Belgium as goalkeeper Pawan was also upto to the task as he made some fantastic saves to keep India in the game. Speaking on their win against Belgium, Reid pointed out the grit and character shown by the Indian team to close out the Belgium attackers. “Our performance against Belgium was, perhaps, not very attractive to watch. But I feel happy to see the boys showed a lot of grit, determination, and guts. As a coach, it was very important for me and exactly what we needed,” he stated.
However, the Indian coach wants his team to play with a bit more energy and panache in the attack. He also pointed out how his men got a little too defensive in the end against Belgium, something that he would not want them to do against Germany. “I hope to play with a little bit more energy and tone tomorrow. We got a little bit defensive against Belgium and it was not our objective. So, we will try to play attacking hockey tomorrow, try to penetrate and score. That’s the name of the game,” the coach concluded.
