KUALA LUMPUR: India’s men’s Junior squad are on the right track to end a seven-year wait to return and recapture the Junior World Cup (JWC) which kicks off on Tuesday (Dec 5-16) at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
The last time India, coached by C R Kumar, lifted the title was back in 2016 after beating 2-1 while the very first time India captured the JWC was in 2001 after whipping Argentine 6-1.
According to Kumar, he was confident that his charges are capable of beating the best to lift the title as the squad has the capability, skills and confidence that they have been displaying during training.
“All the top teams definitely look for it (win the tournament). We are on the same platform and working on it. We have good performance and we are getting the trophy back, which we won in 2016.
“Target to win? Yes, obviously. But we don’t underestimate anybody because this is the World Cup. Every team will bring something into the World Cup, so we are always very cautious and will take game by game,” he told reporters here today.
India who are drawn in Group C, open their campaign against South Korea on Dec 5, followed by Spain (Dec 7) and face Canada on (Dec 9) in their final group game.–Bernama