Defending champions Germany hammered India 5-1 in the semi-final of the Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup. Coach PR Sreejesh had stressed on improving finishing touches and committing fewer defensive lapses, but his boys missed the plot and made a lot of mistakes.
The inability of the forward line to penetrate and find the right answers in the midfield made India look clueless. There was no proper marking, which led to the crushing defeat.
This was India’s third semi-final defeat in a row against the same side at the Junior Men’s World Cup.
From the German side, Lukas Kossel (13, 29), Titus Wex (14), Jonas von Gersum (39) and Ben Hasbach (48) scored the goals. For India, the lone goal came from the stick of Anmol Ekka (49).
The semi-final proceedings started with a deafening roar from the crowd at Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium, with a superb save from custodian Princedeep Singh denying Germany an early chance. But the Indian defence failed to absorb the pressure as Germany kept penetrating India’s circle. Kossel opened the scoring in the 14th minute with a penalty stroke. Moments later, in the dying seconds of the first quarter, Wex scored an exquisite field goal.
The Germans kept pressing and though there were a few good defensive efforts from the Indian colts that restricted them, it didn’t last long. Just a few seconds before the half-time hooter, a stick check by Priyobarta Talem gave Germany their second penalty-corner, which was beautifully converted by Kossel. The Blue colts failed to breach the opponent’s striking circle till the halfway mark.
After the break and in the early minutes of the third quarter, Roshan Kujur tried to breach the opponent defence with a strong flick but it was blocked by German custodian Jasper Ditzer. Afterwards, it was Germany again pushing the Indian side. In the 40th minute, Princedeep looked shaky while coming a bit out and getting beaten by a German midfielder’s overhead pass. Von Gersum converted it into a goal to make it 4-0. The German boys kept making inroads into the Indian half, dismantling the hosts completely.
In the 48th minute, a long aerial pass by a German defender was retrieved by Hasbach in the striking circle. He beat goalkeeper Bikramjit Singh to add another goal for Germany. A minute later, India got their first penalty-corner of the game. Captain Rohit Ekka trapped the ball and cut it towards Anmol, who scored India’s lone goal.
Germany kept possession and finished the match without making any mistakes, storming into the final.
Reflecting on the loss, coach Sreejesh said, “We didn’t play well. We made silly mistakes, conceded goals and didn’t play our game.”
India will now face Argentina in the third-pace playoff.
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