Indian junior hockey team at the 2023 World Junior Championships. Photo: Hockey India
The Indian junior men's hockey team went down 1-3 in a hard-fought bronze medal match against Spain at the FIH Hockey Junior Men's World Cup Malaysia 2023 on Saturday. Sunil Jojo (28') scored the only goal for India, while Nicolas Alvarez (25', 51' ) and Pau Petchame (40') scored for the winning team.
The bronze medal match lived up to expectations and both sides put on a great show. India, who faced Spain in their pool match and lost 1-4, made a fine start and pushed for circle penetration early in the match. They made early progress, winning a PC in the 7th minute, but were unable to convert. While the next few minutes continued to witness an inspired attack from the Indian front line, nothing could come of it.
As the second quarter started at a 0-0 stalemate, Alvarez opened the scoring for Spain with a brilliant tomahawk from the corner of the goal. Although Indian goalkeeper Mohit got his pads on, the effort was not enough to stop the goal. Just three minutes later, India provided a resounding reply when Sunil Jojo scored in the 28th minute from a rebound after a PC execution.
The equalizer gave new confidence to the Indian team, who made some brave forays into the Spanish side. But Spanish goalkeeper Capellades was on target and made a number of fine saves. The break appeared to have fueled Spain's medal aspirations as they returned with fresh ammunition to test the Indian defence.
Good structure in the attacking line saw them find the breakthrough, with Petchame scoring his team's second goal to take a narrow 2-1 lead in the 40th minute. The last 15 minutes were incredibly exciting for the Indian fans who showed up in large numbers. The team started the fourth quarter with a circle penetration conversion attempt. But they could not break the Spanish defense.
In the meantime, Cabre Verdiell set up a brilliant goal by dribbling in from the left flank, while Alvarez deflected the ball into an empty goal as Mohith had moved to the other side. This 51st minute goal put India 1–3 behind, but hopes of a comeback remained as India won a PC in the 54th minute. However, Araijeet Hundal's attempt was cleared by Spanish defenders.
India fought valiantly in the final moments but Spain remained in the lead, handing India another heartbreaking loss in the medal match. In the previous edition in 2021, India had lost in the bronze match.
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First print: December 17, 2023 | 12:48 pm IST