FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup | India suffer 2-4 loss to Germany in semis, to play France for bronze
Defending champions India suffered a 2-4 defeat at the hands of six-time winners Germany in the second semi-final of the FIH Junior Men's Hockey World Cup 2021 at the Kalinga Stadium, on Friday. Now the Indian team will face off against France in the bronze medal playoff match on Sunday.
The loss ends India's title defence, and they will now face France for the bronze medal playoff on Sunday. While Uttam Singh (25th) and Boby Dhami (60th) scored for India, Erik Kleinlein (15th), Aron Flatten (21st), skipper Hannes Muller (24th) and Christopher Kutter (25th) scored for the Germans in the semis.
Now, the six-time champions Germany will be up against Argentina in the finals, who had won the other semis against France. The last time Germany had won the title was in 2013 in New Delhi.
The Indian team never really looked threatening in the match, while the Germans looked like a team on a mission. They attacked the Indian goal right from the start of the match, which eventually handed them the match.
"It was a great match and a very tight match. Germany played very well and congratulations to them. I hope we can win bronze. That is what we will focus on now," said India's captain Vivek Prasad after the game.