Hockey (Junior Men): India
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2001: World champions
India claimed the gold medal for the first time in 2001 at Hobart.
2016: World champions
The finals
The Times of India, Dec 19 2016
Asheem Mukerji
Hosts Turn On Style In Lucknow, Clinch World Cup, This was India's second win in the championship
It was a Super Sunday for the Indians as they turned on the style to `reverse-stick' past Belgium and claim the Junior Men Hockey World Cup at Major Dhyan Chand stadium.
Reserving their best for the final day, the home side called the shots from the very start to catch the rivals on the wrong foot to register a 2-1 verdict. For India, both the goals came off reverse hits.
The final scoreline may not suggest a true picture, as the home side dominated the game and had the European team on the back foot during most of the 70 minutes.
Rattling the Red Cougars with the speed, skill and some immaculate passing, India wasted two short corners early in the match before Gurjant Singh provided India the lead in the eighth minute. He came up with a cracker of a reverse hit from an acute angle to beat Loic Van Doren.
That provided the tempo to the evening, as India doubled the lead 14 minutes later. This time, Simran jeet Singh and Nilakanta Sharma did a 1-2 to hoodwink the Belgians defenders and the former finished it off with a fine reverse hit.
It was one-way ticket in the opening half. As ever, skipper Harjeet Singh was the mainstay at the middle to help the Indians control the game. With forwards Mandeep Singh, Simranjeet, Manpreet Junior and Armaan Qureshi keeping the Belgian defence busy, Indians had the rivals on the run.
After the breather, visitors slowed down the pace of the game. That helped them create some chances, but the Indian defence stood tall to the task. The only time their defence cracked was in the final minute of the game. That time, Fabrice Van Bockrijck defeated the Indians with a strong drag-flick off their second set-piece. In comparision, India earned four penalty corners.
The route to the championship
The Times of India, , Dec 19 2016
Boys showed they were champion class
You've asked a critical qu estion“, said the Indian junior hockey team's coach Harendra Singh, before tears rolled down his cheeks.This correspondent had asked him if he felt like an underachiever, both as player and coach. That was six weeks ago. At that moment, Harendra revealed a pledge he took in 1998, when he became a coach, after being dumped as a player from the national team.
Harendra's investment paid off in Lucknow as the Harjeet Singh-led side edged out Belgium 2-1 to become the first host nation to win the junior World Cup hockey crown. The victory caps an emotional journey of a team which was carved out of raw talent and brought together in April 2014. The team has made plenty of sacrifices. Second goalkeeper Krishan Pathak didn't attend the funeral of his father who passed away a few mon ths ago, as the team was heading to England for a series. Seven members of the junior hockey team, including cap tain Harjeet, are sons of driv ers. They have battled the odds from a very young age, but have all been driven by the common goal of winning the Cup.
Given the team's strengths, a podium finish was expected, but the quality of hockey and the amazing emotional strength they displayed on the field highlighted the fact that they were champion material. The victory by itself was no flash in the pan, the team having won the Junior Asia Cup last year and also the last build-up event -a four-nation tournament in Valencia, Spain.
A lot has happened in Indian hockey over the past eight years.From a side which did not make it to Beijing Olympics in 2008, to the wooden spoon at London four years later, and the eighth-place finish in Rio this year for the senior side.The climb uphill has been slow, but purposeful. In fact, the golden show by the colts caps a great year for Indian hockey in which the senior team has also achived significant progress and is now ranked No. 6 in the world.
T he juniors have ended a 15-year-old World Cup drought. One hopes it gets translated into brighter days for Indian hockey.
