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The Indian men's junior team finished in fourth place in the recently concluded FIH Men's Hockey Junior World Cup after going down against Spain in the bronze medal match on Saturday, December 16 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They lost 1-3 against the European side.
Although India started well by creating chances in Spain's half, their failure to convert penalty corners continued to haunt them throughout the game. The first quarter ended in a stalemate with both teams not registering on the score sheet.
Nicolas Alvarez gave Spain the advantage in the 25th minute after finding the back of the net. But the lead soon vanished, as Sunil Jojo scored the leveler for India within three minutes.
Petchame Pau once again put Spain ahead with a 41st-minute goal in the third quarter. The pressure mounted on India to pull off two goals in the last 15 minutes. But the circle penetrations came to no avail as the Spanish defenders kept the Indians at bay.
Cabre Vardiell set up Alvarez for his second goal of the night, as the former dribbled from the left flank and passed it to the Spanish forward. Alvarez tapped in to the empty net past Indian goalkeeper Mohith HS. The 3-1 lead was enough for Spain to finish on the podium, ending India's chances of winning any medal in the biennial event.
India lost to Spain for the second time in this tournament following a 1-4 defeat in a Pool C fixture. The Uttam Singh-led side went down to eventual champions Germany by a similar margin in the semi-final.
Germany lifts Junior World Cup for seventh time
Germany came from behind to beat France 2-1 to win the Men's Junior Hockey World Cup. Jules Verrier opened the scoring for France in the second quarter, receiving a delightful pass from Louis Haertelmeyer.
Jan Cordes equalised for Germany in the second minute of the second half before Liam Holdermann hit the winner through a brilliant field goal. Germany thus extended their domination in the Men's Junior World Cup, winning a record seventh title. They have won titles previously in 1982, 1985, 1989 (all won by West Germany), 1993, 2009 and 2013.
