Düsseldorf, 17th August 2023: The Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team will begin their campaign at the 4 Nations Tournament – Dusseldorf 2023 against Spain on Friday, 18th August. India will square off against the hosts Germany on 19th August, and England on 21st August with the Final set to take place on 22nd August. The tournament will be part of the preparations for the upcoming FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2023, scheduled to be played in Malaysia from 5th December to 16th December 2023.
The Indian team will be entering into the competition after the completion of the National Coaching Camp at SAI Centre in Bengaluru, which was held between June 2023 and August 2023.
Before the camp, the Indian Junior Men’s Team had earned qualification for the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2023 after winning the Men’s Junior Asia Cup 2023 trophy in Oman, defeating traditional rivals Pakistan 2-1 in a thrilling Final. With the historic victory, India also set a new record for the most titles (4) won at the Men’s Junior Asia Cup.
Vishnukant Singh will be leading the Indian Junior Men’s Team in the absence of Uttam Singh, who is unable to travel due to an injury he sustained during the training camp. Speaking on the importance of the tournament, Vishnukant said, “The tournament is a good opportunity for us to continue our growth and to gain experience of competing against some of the best teams in Europe, ahead of the all-important FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2023. We have strong and experienced players in our squad and we will hope to continue to perform in the same vein we have done in recent tournaments. It will be important for us to get favourable results to gain confidence.”
Last time, the Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team played against Spain was at the 2019 8 Nationals U-21 Men’s Tournament in Madrid, where Spain had won 3-1. Since 2016, Spain and India have squared off four times in which India have won thrice, while Spain have won once. Meanwhile, Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team last faced off against Germany at the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Bhubaneswar 2021 where India had suffered a 2-4 defeat. Since 2013, India have squared off against Germany on four occasions, and have won thrice, while Germany have won once.
Also, the Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team will take on England for the first time since their 5-3 win over the opposition at the Uttar Pradesh Hockey Junior World Cup Men Lucknow 2016. This will only be the third time the two teams will take on each other since 2013.
Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team Head Coach CR Kumar said, “Spain, Germany and England are all strong teams and we have closely followed their past few games. But our primary focus will remain on implementing our plans and playing according to our strengths. We have worked on certain areas at the camp where we needed to improve upon, and we will stick to our strategies to get positive results on the tour.”
Schedule of the Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team:
On 18th August 2023, India Vs Spain at 1430 hrs IST
On 19th August 2023, India vs Germany at 2230 hrs IST
On 21st August 2023, India vs England at 1330 hrs IST
HOCKEY INDIA TEAM PARTNERS
Odisha (India’s Best Kept Secret) – Major Team Partner
Sports Authority of India (SAI)
Shiv Naresh
About HOCKEY INDIA
HOCKEY INDIA (HI) is the governing body with exclusive mandate to direct and conduct all activities for both men and women’s hockey in India. It is recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Govt. of India as the sole body responsible towards promoting Hockey in India.
Headquartered in New Delhi, Hockey India was established on 20th May, 2009 and is affiliated to the International Hockey Federation (FIH), the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and Asian Hockey Federation (AHF).
Committed to the development of Hockey in the country, Hockey India with the assistance of Sports Authority of India and Department of Sports, Government of India, trains players at sub-junior, junior and senior level. The governing body engages in Coaching the coaches with International Standard certification programs, educates and equips technical officials and umpires to find a foothold in international arena, provides world-class infrastructure and International exposure for the players besides regular international competition. Hockey India has also pioneered in bringing top International hockey events to India such as the FIH Men’s World Cup in 2010 and 2018, FIH Champions Trophy in 2014, FIH Junior Men’s World Cup in 2016 and 2021, FIH Hockey World League Final in 2017. With its vision to popularize the game and constantly promote it, Hockey India brought the Indian Men’s Hockey Team into the top three in the world. Hockey India is also dedicated to getting the Indian Women’s Hockey Team into the top three in the world.
Follow us on:
www.hockeyindia.org | Twitter: @TheHockeyIndia | Facebook: Hockey India | Instagram: hockeyindia
About ODISHA
Odisha – the Eastern State of India – is known for its love for Hockey and over the years it has evolved to be the Global Hub of Hockey. The State successfully hosted the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018, followed by the FIH Men’s Series Finals Bhubaneswar Odisha, FIH Olympic Qualifiers Odisha, and FIH Hockey Pro League 2020-21. Odisha has previously hosted the Champions Trophy 2014 and the Odisha Men’s Hockey World League Final Bhubaneswar 2017. Odisha also hosted the FIH Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup in 2021.
Kalinga Lancers, the team owned by the State, were the winners in the Hockey India League 2017. Taking a step further towards realising the dream of restoring the glory of Indian Hockey at the global level, the State is sponsoring the Indian Hockey Teams till 2033.
Odisha also hosted the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023.
Follow us on:
http://odishatourism.gov.inhttp://department.sportsodisha.gov.in
