Germany thumps India 4-1 in semis shocker
The Indian team will need a lot of soul-searching as it was inexplicable not to score even once from a dozen penalty corners in such a crucial stage of the showpiece.
KUALA LUMPUR: Penalty corner woes continued to haunt India as it failed to convert even once from 12 shots to lose 1-4 to a clinical Germany in the semi-final of junior men’s hockey World Cup on Thursday.
Six-time champions Germany, on the other hand, earned just two penalty corners in the whole match but scored on both the occasions.
The Indian team will need a lot of soul-searching as it was inexplicable not to score even once from a dozen penalty corners in such a crucial stage of the showpiece.
Ben Hasbach struck a brace with goals in the eighth (field goal) and 30th minute (penalty corner) to give Germany a 2-1 lead at half-time. Sudeep Chirmako (11th) scored the solitary goal for India with a field effort.
The mighty Germans then consolidated its lead with a clinical penalty corner conversion by Glander Paul (41st), while Florian Spirling’s 58th minute field strike completed the formalities.
Last edition runners-up Germany will face the winner of the other semi-final between France and Spain in the summit clash.
India will play for the bronze medal on Saturday.
The Indian junior men’s team has now lost to Germany five out of five times this year. India had also lost to the same opponents (2-4) in the semi-final of the 2021 edition in Bhubaneswar.