<p>Madurai: Hosts India will take on Switzerland in the FIH Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup 2025 Pool B match at the Madurai International Hockey Stadium here on Tuesday. </p>.<p>Both teams played their previous matches in Chennai and will have their first taste of the newly-built stadium, posing a fresh challenge. </p>.<p>With the quarterfinals position at stake, both teams will have to put their best foot forward. The two teams have six points each, having won both their group stage encounters. However, the Indian Colts are placed at the top of the standings with a better goal difference of 24.</p>.Indian women's hockey team chief coach Harendra Singh resigns.<p>India, the two-time champion (2001 and 2016), began their campaign with a commanding 7-0 victory over Chile followed by an emphatic 17-0 win against Oman. </p>.<p>The positives for the team heading into the contest are its goal-scoring ability, with 24 goals which is the highest by any team in this edition so far. India were able to breach Chile and Oman’s defences with ease and had 111 (38 vs Chile and 73 vs Oman) circle penetrations. </p>.<p>“In this format, we need to have that kind of mentality (to score more goals),” said head coach PR Sreejesh in the pre-match press conference. “League round matches are open, and quarterfinal slots are allotted based on your wins and goal average. When preparing for the quarterfinals, we need to go with the attitude that we need to score more goals irrespective of the opponent we play.” </p>.<p>The Sreejesh-coached team also has a rock-solid defensive lineup and has kept clean sheets against both opponents so far. However, Sreejesh denied claims that the team’s defence has not been tested yet.</p>.<p>“Our goalkeepers made good saves. The defence has done a wonderful job. We conceded many penalty corners as well. There are areas where we need to worry about, and we are looking into those areas now,” the 37-year-old former Indian goalkeeper said.</p>.<p><strong>PC conversion concerns</strong></p>.<p>However, the Indian team faces a major concern that it will have to address before facing the European nation. The Rohit-led side could convert just seven of the 26 penalty corners it earned during the previous two encounters. </p>.<p>Debutants Switzerland got off to a winning start against Oman with a 4-0 score. In their second encounter, they defeated Chile 3-2, solely relying on penalty corner conversions, with three goals in four chances. Mattia Ribaudo will hold the key for Switzerland with a must-win encounter ahead of them.</p>.<p>With a 50 per cent penalty corner conversion rate, the Swiss side will heavily rely on PCs to stun World No. 2 India. The European outfit has converted five out of 10 penalty corners it earned. </p>.<p>Although qualification is firmly within India’s grasp, the hosts will aim to finish the group stage on a positive note. Meanwhile, a win for Switzerland would see them secure a top spot in the pool and a quarterfinals spot, while a loss or draw would leave them relying on other teams’ points and a score difference. </p>.<p>Today’s fixtures: In Madurai: Pool D: Spain vs Namibia (11:00 am); Egypt vs Belgium (1:15 pm). Pool E: Netherlands vs Austria (3:30 pm); England vs Malaysia (5:45 pm). Pool B: India vs Switzerland (8:00 pm)</p>.<p>In Chennai: Pool B: Chile vs Oman (1:30 pm); Pool F: France vs Bangladesh (3:45 pm); Korea vs Australia (6:00 pm).</p>
<p>Madurai: Hosts India will take on Switzerland in the FIH Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup 2025 Pool B match at the Madurai International Hockey Stadium here on Tuesday. </p>.<p>Both teams played their previous matches in Chennai and will have their first taste of the newly-built stadium, posing a fresh challenge. </p>.<p>With the quarterfinals position at stake, both teams will have to put their best foot forward. The two teams have six points each, having won both their group stage encounters. However, the Indian Colts are placed at the top of the standings with a better goal difference of 24.</p>.Indian women's hockey team chief coach Harendra Singh resigns.<p>India, the two-time champion (2001 and 2016), began their campaign with a commanding 7-0 victory over Chile followed by an emphatic 17-0 win against Oman. </p>.<p>The positives for the team heading into the contest are its goal-scoring ability, with 24 goals which is the highest by any team in this edition so far. India were able to breach Chile and Oman’s defences with ease and had 111 (38 vs Chile and 73 vs Oman) circle penetrations. </p>.<p>“In this format, we need to have that kind of mentality (to score more goals),” said head coach PR Sreejesh in the pre-match press conference. “League round matches are open, and quarterfinal slots are allotted based on your wins and goal average. When preparing for the quarterfinals, we need to go with the attitude that we need to score more goals irrespective of the opponent we play.” </p>.<p>The Sreejesh-coached team also has a rock-solid defensive lineup and has kept clean sheets against both opponents so far. However, Sreejesh denied claims that the team’s defence has not been tested yet.</p>.<p>“Our goalkeepers made good saves. The defence has done a wonderful job. We conceded many penalty corners as well. There are areas where we need to worry about, and we are looking into those areas now,” the 37-year-old former Indian goalkeeper said.</p>.<p><strong>PC conversion concerns</strong></p>.<p>However, the Indian team faces a major concern that it will have to address before facing the European nation. The Rohit-led side could convert just seven of the 26 penalty corners it earned during the previous two encounters. </p>.<p>Debutants Switzerland got off to a winning start against Oman with a 4-0 score. In their second encounter, they defeated Chile 3-2, solely relying on penalty corner conversions, with three goals in four chances. Mattia Ribaudo will hold the key for Switzerland with a must-win encounter ahead of them.</p>.<p>With a 50 per cent penalty corner conversion rate, the Swiss side will heavily rely on PCs to stun World No. 2 India. The European outfit has converted five out of 10 penalty corners it earned. </p>.<p>Although qualification is firmly within India’s grasp, the hosts will aim to finish the group stage on a positive note. Meanwhile, a win for Switzerland would see them secure a top spot in the pool and a quarterfinals spot, while a loss or draw would leave them relying on other teams’ points and a score difference. </p>.<p>Today’s fixtures: In Madurai: Pool D: Spain vs Namibia (11:00 am); Egypt vs Belgium (1:15 pm). Pool E: Netherlands vs Austria (3:30 pm); England vs Malaysia (5:45 pm). Pool B: India vs Switzerland (8:00 pm)</p>.<p>In Chennai: Pool B: Chile vs Oman (1:30 pm); Pool F: France vs Bangladesh (3:45 pm); Korea vs Australia (6:00 pm).</p>