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New Delhi: Defending champions Germany hammered India 5-1 in the semifinal of the Junior Men's Hockey World Cup on Sunday, December 7. The Men in Blue failed to capitalise on the momentum, which they gained from their thrilling quarterfinal victory over Belgium. The last time India played the final of the Junior Hockey World Cup was in 2016, when they emerged as champions in Lucknow.
India will take on Argentina for the bronze medal on Wednesday, while Germany will take on Spain in the final. Earlier, Spain defeated Argentina 2-1 in the first semifinal of the tournament.
India began the game positively, but the visitors took control of the proceedings as the match progressed. They got the first chance to take the lead, but goalkeeper Princedeep Singh was alert to deny Ben Hasbach's reverse shot.
The Germans secured their first penalty corner in the 13th minute, and Lukas Kossel made no mistake in scoring the opening goal. They doubled their lead on the verge of the first quarter when Wex deflected in a cross from Kossel.
The visitors secured their second penalty corner just 11 seconds from the end of the second quarter, and Kossel scored again as the reigning champions took a dominating 3-0 lead at halftime.
The hosts got a brilliant chance to score just three minutes after the change of ends but Sourabh Anand Kushwaha fumbled and made a mistake in front of an open goal. Germany continued their domination, securing consecutive penalty corners in the 36th minute, but wasted both opportunities.
They netted their fourth goal of the match in the 40th minute of the match when Jonas von Gersum neatly deflected a high ball into the post. The Indian team continued to struggle defensively, as the visitors secured their fourth penalty corner in the 42nd minute, which was well defended by the home team.
The Germans extended their lead to 5-0 in the 49th minute of the game as Hasbach scored a diving goal past goalkeeper Bikramjit Singh in a one-on-one situation after receiving an aerial ball from the deep. The host secured consecutive penalty corners in the 51st minute, and Anmol found the net from a variation effort. The Indian players tried to press hard after that, but the match was already over by then.
