The 2016 Men's Hockey Junior World Cup will go underway at the Major Dhyan Chand stadium in Lucknow from the 8th of December. 16 of the best teams from across the globe in the likes of Australia, Argentina, South Korea, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, Malaysia, Egypt, Germany, New Zealand, Spain, Japan, England, South Africa, Canada and host nation India will clash against each other for the prestigious honour at stake.
There are a lot of interesting facts surrounding this edition of the World Cup, here are the 5 things you should definitely be aware of:
#5 India hosting the coveted tournament for the second consecutive time
It is for the first time in the history of the World Cup, that a country is playing the host nation for the second time in a row. Back in 2013, the Junior Hockey World Cup was held in the capital city of New Delhi at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium. Germany emerged as the champions that year after beating France 5-2 in the final encounter while the Netherlands finished in the third place.
As for 2016, the city of Nawabs, Lucknow will play host to the world’s best hockey colts. All the matches will be played at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium, which is the sole venue for the entire course of the tournament.
#4 Pakistan’s loss is Malaysia’s gain
The junior team of Pakistan was barred from competing at the World Cup by FIH despite officially qualifying for the same, on account of the fact that they had failed to apply for visas before the stipulated deadline.
“Visas had been applied for after the official deadline and no accommodation was confirmed within the set deadlines. Despite a number of correspondence and reminders, the PHF was not able to show that their team would be able to travel to Lucknow for the event which begins in only a few days’ time,” the FIH said in a statement.
As a result of this development, Malaysia’s junior team earned a call-up to the event from the FIH in order to ensure a full complement of 16 playing teams. Malaysia are placed in Pool B alongside Netherlands, Belgium and Egypt.
#3 Canadian team with an Indian connection
The Canadian squad features 13 players with an Indian connection, with two of them actually being born in India while the rest have an Indian origin. Captain Balraj Panesar also has desi roots, hailing from the heartland of Punjab.
The teams’ Sikh gaffer, Inderpal Sehmbi is also positive about the his boys’ outing at the World Cup, he was quoted as saying to the Hindustan Times that, “I see this tournament as an opportunity for the players to get better so that in the next 5-6 years they get to play for the senior side.We were not even surprised by the way our seniors played against India at Rio (Canada drew 2-2 against India). We aren’t here with any special plan, but we are here to play good hockey.”
#2 6 time champions Germany
The European country holds the record for lifting the Junior Hockey World Cup trophy for the most number of times and will also play this edition in the capacity of defending champions. Another record that they are eyeing, is their third consecutive crown at the World Cup after two successive titles in 2009 and 2013.
“Yes, we have won the World Cup six times and we are here for a hat-trick. The World Cup happens once in four years and for many players, it's a one-time opportunity to play the World Cup and win the World Cup. So it's not too difficult to motivate the team to do it again and this time they are chasing the goal of a hat-trick,” Germany's head coach Valentin Altenburg was quoted as saying to The Statesman.
#1 India are favourites on home turf
The Indian colts enter the big fight as major favourites to clinch the trophy. Riding high on confidence, they also have the advantage of playing on the home ground and will be backed by a healthy crowd support in all of their matches. The country last won the tournament back in 2001, and the squad captained by Harjeet Singh looks more ready than ever to end the 15-year drought ever since.
“Obviously, there is the pressure of the World Cup, but we are embracing it,” said India’s drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh.
“The pressure of being the host team is also there, but the senior team motivated us in Bengaluru (during the teams’ national camps). We are not feeling any tension; on the contrary, we are enjoying ourselves. There is a lot of hard work going into our training and we are feeling confident. In fact, there is a lot of excitement, we can’t wait for the tournament to start. We have worked hard for this event for over two years and, finally, it is time to play. We want to show the world how good we are,”
