Volvo U21 invitational: Indian hockey juniors look to bounce back against England

A still from India’s match against Belgium. [Image credits: Hockey India]

Breda (The Netherlands), July 23 (IANS)

Following two back-to-back losses, India will look to bounce back when they face favourites England in their fifth league match of the men's Volvo International Under-21 hockey tournament here on Friday.

India, who defeated New Zealand and Germany in the first two matches, lost to Belgium (1-3) and the Netherlands (1-2) in the next two, dropping to the fourth position with six points. England are on top of the points table.

“The last two matches were disappointing for us as we lost the matches in a manner which was not very good. We played well and dominated the matches, but failed to materialise on our opportunities,” skipper Harjeet Singh said in a release on Thursday.

Harendra Singh-coached India will look to emulate the performance that helped them win the first two matches.

On the other side, the England U-21 team is confident with their unbeaten run in the tournament and a win against India will solidify their spot in the final match.

England's thumping's victory over Belgium and Germany gave them a good start in the tournament and become the title favourites. With two draws against the Netherlands and New Zealand, they maintained their top position on the points table.

“We are upset but not demoralised and we will come back strongly. We are working on our attacks and penalty corners, looking for positive results in the remaining matches,” midfielder Harjeet said.

“England are a good team and unbeatable till now. But we have some good players who have the abilities to stun the opponents.”