India will look to put the disappointment of their Semi-Final loss to Germany behind them when they take on Spain for the second time in the Hockey Junior World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, on Saturday, in the 3rd/4th place match.
India had a good run in the tournament including a thrilling 4-3 win over the Netherlands in the Quarter-Final, where they came back from being 0-2 down at halftime. Earlier in the tournament, they won their first Pool C game against Korea 4-2 before losing 1-4 to Spain and then beating Canada 10-1 in their final group stage match.
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Notably, India have played against Spain eight times in Junior World Cup history with the latter having the edge over India, winning five of those battles, the most recent match going in favour of Spain. However, after the Semi-Final loss to Germany, India would like to set the record straight against Spain, when they play them in a contest for the Bronze medal.
Team Captain, Uttam Singh, said, “It is disappointing that we aren’t in the final but we have to put the loss behind us. We have one last match to give our all and we’re going to focus on trying to win that game.”
Meanwhile, Coach C R Kumar said, “We really would’ve loved to have been playing the final but now we just have to focus on what lies ahead of us. Finishing third in a World Cup also commands a lot of respect so we’ll play the best hockey we can.”