India Need To Lift Its Game To Prevail Over Germany In FIH Junior World Cup Semifinals

Eyeing to reclaim the crown after nine years, the Indian men's hockey team will have to raise its game by leaps and bounds if it hopes to get past seven-time champions and title holders Germany in the semifinal of the FIH Junior World Cup in Chennai on Sunday. Two-time champions India last won the title way back in 2016 in Lucknow. The Indians had a relatively easy pool outing, scoring 29 goals and conceding none against lowly sides like Chile, Oman and Switzerland to breeze into the quarterfinals.

But the PR Sreejesh-coached side faced their first real test against Belgium in the quarterfinals. India had to dig deep into their reservoir to eke out a 4-3 shoot-out win against Belgium after both the sides were locked 2-2 at the end of regulation time.

It took a superlative effort from goalkeeper Princedeep Singh to keep India in the hunt.

Princedeep not only made some fantastic saves in the regulation 60 minutes but also effected two brilliant saves in the shoot-out to take India forward.

India's defence was hardly tested in the pool stages, but against Belgium got a taste of what is awaiting for them in the knockout stages of the tournament against quality opponents.

Sreejesh was not at all happy with the team's performance against Belgium despite the win and asked his players to keep their "feet on the ground".

"I sweetly made them understand that it was not the final. To keep your feet on the ground is most important and we need to focus on the next match," Sreejesh said after the Belgium match.

He listed the areas which India need to improve going ahead if they desire to reclaim the title.

"...we expect the same (performance) from Germany too in the next match. So we have to raise our level according to the occasion. What we need to do is score and that's the most important thing," he said.

"Another important thing is to focus on the mistakes you have committed. What is easy is to keep in your mind what good things you have done in the match but what is important is to learn from the mistakes we have committed inside opponent's D and how to get more outcome." The Indian forwards, who shone bright in the pool stages against weaker opponents, fell flat against Belgium despite creating numerous scoring chances.

And come Sunday, the likes of Manmeet Singh, Dilraj Singh, Ajeet Yadav, Sourabh Anand Kushwaha and Arshdeep Singh can't afford to slip a bit against the mighty Germans, known for their ruthless game.

"We need to get that final touch. Once you are inside the D you can't give away ball possession," Sreejesh said.

The Indian backline too needs to pull up its socks as it was guilty of giving away the ball and conceding soft goals.

"It is a team game, the defence too needs to up their game and not concede soft penalty corners or give away possession. In hockey the first line of play starts from the defence," the Indian coach emphasised. Pressure is also one thing which the inexperienced Indians need to handle, especially in front of big home crowd.

"There is pressure which comes with quarterfinals, and more pressure with semifinal and final. From the quarterfinal stage we can't take any team easily," Sreejesh said.

One thing which the coach would be happy about is penalty corner conversions as India's both goals in the regulation time against Belgium came from set pieces converted by Sharda Nand Tiwari and skipper Rohit Yadav.

But the team would be expecting more precision from the duo in the business end of the tournament.

Besides Princedeep, Tiwari is the other player who stood out against Belgium, converting a goal in regulation time and scoring thrice from penalty spot in the shoot-out.

Germany, on the other hand, are the team to beat in this tournament, and their record speaks volumes about their quality.

But the Germans too had to fight hard to get past a fighting France 3-1 in shoot-out after the game finished tied at 2-2.

Just like India, the German goalkeeper Jasper Ditzer was the star for his side in the quarterfinal against France, effecting fantastic saves through the 60 minutes and then replicating the same form in the shoot-out.

Meanwhile in the other semifinal, Spain will take on Argentina.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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