Bengaluru: Upon arriving at Sports Authority of India, here after their bronze medal-winning campaign at the Sultan of Johor Cup in Malaysia, the Indian Junior Men’s Team have had some time to reflect on their performance at the marquee event where they beat New Zealand in a thrilling play-off match to win the Bronze.
Echoing the team’s sentiments, Skipper Amir Ali said, “We were very disappointed after missing out on the final due to goal difference. But as a team, we decided, there was no point looking back at what we could have done better. We decided to focus on the bronze medal match and told ourselves that we can’t go back home empty handed.”
The Indian team remained on top of the points table throughout the tournament with strong performances against Japan (4-2), Great Britain (6-4), Malaysia (4-2), and New Zealand (3-3). However, it was the 0-4 loss against Australia, which went on to win the tournament, that cost India dearly. It was by a mere one-goal difference that GB made the final ahead of India.
However, the team’s fighting spirit, ignited by their new Coach, legendary PR Sreejesh, helped them face tense situations.
“At least 12 players in the team were playing a big tournament for the first time. They had earlier played the test series but they were new to a tournament set up. Sree bhai (Sreejesh) is the best mentor we could have had. He constantly spoke to us about enjoying the matches we played without taking any pressure. This was largely why we would bounce back even after conceding goals and ended up winning those matches too,” explained Ali, who was part of the India Colts team that lifted the Sultan of Johor Cup in 2022.
“He would talk to us about going step-by-step in the match and even during half-time breaks, when we would be behind in scoreline, he would tell us how we can go about without being under pressure. It was only that match against Australia where we lost by a huge goal margin that cost us dearly. Now, the team understands the nature of the round-robin league and how every goal matters,” he added.
Back to business in SAI, Bengaluru, the team has set their focus on lifting the Men’s Junior Asia Cup title. The marquee tournament, which is also a qualifying tournament for the FIH Junior World Cup, begins on 26 November in Muscat, Oman. “We are back in camp and have begun our preparations for the Junior Asia Cup. The next few months are crucial for us as we prepare for the Junior World Cup on home soil.”
“Being in the same campus as the Senior team helps us a lot. Even for me personally, the experience I gained playing with the senior team has helped in guiding the newcomers in the Junior side. I have learnt a lot from Harmanpreet Singh and Manpreet,” he said.
On a lighter note, when asked what the team prefers to call their new Coach, whether it is ‘Sir or Bhai’, Amir laughed and said, “We all actually asked him if we must call him ‘Sir’ now that he is our coach. He asked us to choose what we are comfortable with, and we have decided to go with – Sree Bhai,” Amir signed off.
