Germany too strong for India

A semifinal battle between the two best-ranked teams at the FIH Men’s Junior World Cup here was tipped to be a Sunday blockbuster. 

But the hockey-loving Chennai crowd, watched closely by the other 22 teams and their supporters in attendance, who turned out with high expectations from the home boys, had their energy sucked away in a jiffy and reduced to mute spectators by the German side. 

Even before the clock crossed the halfway mark, the defending champions had sprinted out of sight from India before completing the formalities in the second half to score a 5-1 win and advance comfortably to the final at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium.

Just when the Rohit Yadav-led squad was beginning to look more coordinated than it has ever been in this tournament, Germany broke away when Lukas Kossel slotted in a penalty stroke in the 14th minute. India had barely re-grouped and the second blow came a minute later through Titus Wex’s quick reflex in front of the goal post. 

Without any sting in their game and forced to play defensive by an attacking opponent with a faster mind and legs, India watched as Kossel converted a penalty corner for his second goal seconds before the hooter went off at half-time. 

Change of ends did little to change the hosts’ fortunes. Germany — aggressive in the backline and midfield and taking chances at will without any fumble — were putting on a masterclass to prove the gap in the quality of hockey between them and the world No. 2 India. 

Jonas von Gersum added his name to the scoreboard in the 40th minute before a lone Ben Habach ran straight into goalkeeper Princedeep Singh and put the ball across the Indian in the 49th minute to give the seven-time title-holders a 5-0 lead. 

The lone consolation for PR Sreejesh’s men came in the 50th minute with defender Anmol Ekka flicking in to open India’s account. The match had marched away beyond their reach by then. 

Spain in final

Albert Serrahima’s forehand smack from outside the 23-meter line into the back of the net in the 56th minute gave Spain the winning goal against Argentina who were left in tears. 

Emotions ran high as Serrahima’s goal was referred for a possible body touch by one of the two rival players stationed in between the scorer and the Argentine goalkeeper. However, the umpires declared it a clear goal, which saw the world no. 4 Spanish team enter their maiden Junior Hockey World Cup final, courtesy a 2-1 victory.

Mario Mena opened the account for Spain in the seventh minute before Juan Fernandez equalised for Argentina, ranked third, in the 21st minute. 

In a battle that was both vocal and combative, coach Oriol Torras Puig admitted that Spain weren’t their best but managed to hold on and break the South American defence to emerge victorious.  

Results: Semifinals: Germany: 5 (Lukas Kossel 14th, 30th, Titus Wex 15th, Jonas von Gersum 40th, Ben Habach 49th) bt India: 1 (Anmol Ekka 50th).

Spain: 2 (Mario Mena 7th, Albert Serrahima 56th) bt Argentina: 1 (Juan Fernandez 21st).

5-8 classification: Belgium: 3 (Mathis Lauwers 26th, Maximilian Langer 46th, Hugo Labouchere 58th) bt France: 2 (James Liddiard 22nd, Tassilo Sura 35th);

Netherlands: 6 (Casper van der Veen 4th, 8th, 36th, Peppe Veen 4th, Jan van ‘t Land 21st, Joppe Wolbert 26th) bt New Zealand: 3 (Owen Brown 18th, 59th, Jonty Elmes 29th).

Final: Germany vs Spain; 3th-4th place: India vs Argentina (Dec 10).