Indian juniors falter

The Indian team’s campaign at the Junior Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar ended the way it had begun, with a loss to France. The first defeat to France came in the group stage, the second in the play-off for the bronze medal — France, thus, snatched away from the hosts the consolation of finishing on the podium. For India, the defending champions, fourth place seems a massive fall after the glory of 2016, when the team won the title by beating Belgium in the final in Lucknow. Apart from the two losses to France, India lost to Germany as well, in the semifinals, which ended their title defence. The first loss to France had exposed the rustiness of the team, which had not played a single competitive match for two years due to the disruptions caused by Covid-19. Subsequent wins over Canada, Poland and a strong Belgium raised hopes, but they were dashed by Germany in the semifinals.

The tournament ended in disappointment for India, but we can take heart from the fact that the team showed glimpses of excellent skills. In defence and especially in penalty-corner execution, it displayed a high level of skill, planning and execution. Players such as Sanjay Kumar, Shardanand Tiwari and Araijeet Singh Hundal seem destined to play for the senior team. It was by blunting India’s penalty-corner prowess that Germany and France beat India. The gameplan of the top European teams can be gauged from the fact that in their last three matches against them, they allowed India only five penalty-corners, of which only one was converted into goal.

Fourth place in the tournament is disappointing, but it should not cause despair because the team has a talented core. Poor trapping at crucial junctures and low passing accuracy in the big games showed that the team cracked under pressure. Its inexperience was exposed brutally by Germany and France. There is another factor that must be mentioned: In 2016, the team that won the title included several players who had figured in the competitive Hockey India League (HIL), which has been discontinued. HIL was a finishing school for Indian juniors transiting to the next level, and its revival would benefit Indian hockey a great deal.