Last Updated: December 15, 2023, 12:34 IST
India are eyeing their fourth podium end in the historical past of the match. (Pic Credit: Hockey India)
The Indians could be morally down however come Saturday, they cannot afford to be wasteful towards Spain, who defeated them 4-1 in the pool levels.
A profligate India must elevate their sport by leaps and bounds in the event that they need to overcome a mighty Spain in the bronze medal play-off match of the junior males’s hockey World Cup right here on Saturday.
India wasted as many as 12 penalty corners to lose 1-4 towards a medical Germany in the semifinal on Thursday.
The Indians could be morally down however come Saturday, they will’t afford to be wasteful towards Spain, who defeated them 4-1 in the pool levels.
On the opposite hand, Spain too could be hurting from 1-3 loss towards France in the semifinal and could be seeking to end their marketing campaign with not less than a bronze medal.
The Indians too could be eyeing their fourth podium end in the historical past of the match, having gained gold twice (in 2001 Hobart and 2016 Lucknow), and a silver means again in 1997 in Milton Keynes, England.
But for that the Uttam Singh-led facet must do some soul-searching and produce its ‘A’ sport.
The match turned out to be a blended bag affair for India as they confirmed nice dedication to stun world no.4 Netherlands 4-3 in the quarterfinal.
But they failed to hold on the momentum towards six-time champions Germany, failing to utilise quite a few scoring possibilities that got here their means.
India captain Uttam conceded that they wasted possibilities galore however stated they’re nonetheless in with an opportunity of ending on the rostrum and can put together in the direction of that aim.
“We got a lot of opportunities inside the circle (against Germany) but we missed a lot. We couldn’t convert our chances. We tried to score from the set pieces but we couldn’t convert,” he stated.
“We need to be more aware and not lose ball possession. We are not out of the tournament yet, bronze medal match is still there. Whatever has happened we can’t change. Our entire focus will be on the next game.”
India’s chief coach CR Kumar could be extremely dissatisfied with the efficiency of his dragflickers and could be hoping that the likes of vice-captain Araijeet Singh Hundal, Shardanand Tiwari and Sudeep Chirmako ship the products on Saturday.
Uttam and Boby Singh Dhami too would look to carry their sport upfront.
Spain, alternatively, have by no means reached the ultimate of the match. Their greatest consequence was a bronze medal in the 2005 version in Rotterdam, beating India 6-5 on penalties after the match was tied at 1-1 on the finish of regulation time.
Germany, who completed runner-up in the final version in 2021 in Bhubaneswar, will play reigning bronze medallist France in the summit conflict.
(This story has not been edited by News18 workers and is printed from a syndicated information company feed – PTI)
