All teams in action on first day as India take on Netherlands
For 10 days, 16 teams claiming to be ready, will battle for Hero hockey Junior World Cup's honours and the battleground — Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here seems to be ready with all kinds of finishing touches being put on Thursday afternoon.
16 teams are divided with four pools. Pool A has defending champion Germany, inaugural edition champion Pakistan, current European champion Belgium and Egypt. In Pool B, Australia, Spain, Argentina and France will pit against each other. 2001 champion Indian team will open its campaign against the Netherlands on Friday before facing Canada on Saturday and Korea on Tuesday in Pool C. Pool D comprises of England, New Zealand, South Africa and Malaysia.
This U-21 tournament holds a lot of significance because of its link with the future. The players of this age group will decide the competitiveness of the game in coming 5 to 15 years. Needless to say, these are the guys who will replace the likes of Jamie Dwyer, Teun de Nooijer, Moritz Furste or Sardar Singh in next five years. And the team which will boast of brightest talents, that country will have the advantage of ruling the roost in events like 2018 World Cups or the 2020 Olympics.
And the players are aware that to showcase your talent, no stage can be better than this. "The team which will push its limit to the fullest, will have the glory, says centre-half Manpreet Singh, the Indian skipper and team's highest-capped player with 85 international appearances.
Another new start
Being the hosts, it will not be easy for the Indians. The young players will have to be prepared to counter the weight of expectations from familes, friends, fans, officials and media. After the Junior women's team bronze medal-winning show, expectations from Indian hockey has reignited.
It is also a con-incidence that the Gregg Clarke-coached side will play the Dutch in their opening games like the senior team faced in Olympics, losing 3-2. Making an appearance in london was a new dawn for Indian hockey and in the very first game, the Holland team showed the Indians that they are still not up to mark.
But this time, the young turks are confident of a good start. "Then, we had not played tough oppositions. But, this time we have played many of them. Even against Netherlands when we toured, it was an even contest. So, we have the experience this time and we are ready," Manpreet said.
Traditionally, Indian hockey is known for its attacking game and this year they have a talented bunch of forwards in Mandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Malak Singh, Talwinder Singh and Ramandeep Singh.
Manpreet, Harjeet Singh, Satbir Singh, Prabhdeep Singh, Imran Khan will take care of the mid-field while athletic Kothajit Singh will spearhead the dbackeline of Gurjinder Singh, vice-captain Amit Rohidas, Surender Kumar, Sukhmanjit Singh and Pardeep Mor. Sushant Tirkey and Harjot Singh are the custodians. The team has three penalty-corner experts in Gurjinder, Rohidas and Sukhmanjit.
"It's a well-balanced side. I think we have good defensive structure, being as organised as possible in all facets of defence. Obviously attack is the tradition of Indian hockey. There is lots of flair in the team. Indian hockey is renowned for its attacking flair. If we can balance our organised defence with our natural ability, I think we will be in good stead in the tournament," India coach Clark said on Thursday.
No clear favourites
Many coaches have opined that this tournament will see fierce competition and it is difficult to name any country as clear favourites. One of the favourites, Australian coach Paul Goudoin says, "this is a limited age-group tournament and in such case, you can't name anyone as clear winners. Due to various reasons like the team don't train for longer periods, no perfect combinations and lack of maturity of players, these sort of tournament are more wide and open.
“I would say that Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, India and Pakistan are favourites," he told reporters, before adding, " we too have a strong group." However, till the December 15th, it is time to enjoy the action.