FIH Hockey Junior World Cup 2023: India to take on Spain, eye podium finish

KUALA LUMPUR: The Indian Junior Men's Hockey Team will look to put the disappointment of their Semi-Final loss to Germany behind them when they take on Spain for the second time in the FIH Hockey Men's Junior World Cup Malaysia 2023 on Saturday, 16th December in the 3rd/4th place match.

The Indian Junior Men's Hockey Team have had a good run in the tournament including a thrilling 4-3 win over the Netherlands in the Quarter-Final, where they came back from being 0-2 down at halftime. Earlier in the tournament, they won their first Pool C game against Korea 4-2 before losing 1-4 to Spain and then beating Canada 10-1 in their final group stage match.

Notably, India have played against Spain eight times in Men's Junior World Cup history with the latter having the edge over India, winning five of those battles, the most recent match going in favour of Spain. However, after the Semi-Final loss to Germany, India would like to set the record straight against Spain, when they play them in a contest for the Bronze medal.

Indian Junior Men's Team Captain, Uttam Singh, said, "It is disappointing that we aren't in the final but we have to put the loss behind us. We have one last match to give our all and we're going to focus on trying to win that game."

Meanwhile, Coach C R Kumar said, "We really would've loved to have been playing the final but now we just have to focus on what lies ahead of us. Finishing third in a World Cup also commands a lot of respect so we'll play the best hockey we can."

India will face Spain in the 3rd/4th place playoff match on Saturday, December 16, 2023 at 15:30hrs IST.

The Final of the tournament will take place on 16th December between Germany and France.

The matches will be broadcast on Viacom Sports 18 - 3 and Sports 18 - 1 HD, as well as live-streamed on JioCinema.