Team India beats Netherlands in an exciting quarter-final match today to advance to the semis. In a
thrilling encounter, the Indian side won by 4-3. The Indians marched into the semi-finals of the FIH
Hockey Men’s Junior World with a gritty 4-3 win over the Netherlands. It was a thrilling quarter-final
match at the National Hockey Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia played on December 12, 2023.
How The Goals Rolled In
Aditya Arjun Lalage (34’), Araijeet Singh Hundal (35’), Sourabh Anand Kushwaha (52’) and captain Uttam
Singh (57’) scored the goals for the Indian team today while Timo Boers (5’), Pepijn van der Heijden (16’)
and Olivier Hortensius (44’) netted for the Dutch team.
The Netherlands, World No. 4, scored early in the first quarter with a penalty corner conversion from
Timo Boers. Although the Indian side put up a solid defence, it could not prevent Pepijn van der Heijden
from scoring for the Netherlands in the second quarter through another penalty corner conversion. It
took the lead to 2-0 at half-time.
World No. 3 India, two-time FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup champions, put up a strong
comeback in the third quarter with a goal from Aditya Lalage assisted by Araijeet Singh Hundal. Two
minutes later Araijeet scored another with a penalty that was the equaliser for India.
The Indian side kept the pressure on the Dutch. However, they managed yet another penalty corner that
was converted by Olivier Hortensius late in the third quarter. Thereby, the Dutch gained a narrow lead
of one goal at the end of the third quarter.
With less than 10 minutes remaining, the Indians raised the pace of their game further. Following an
excellent attack, Sourabh Anand Kushwaha found the back of the net off a rebound to get the score
level at 3-3.
Nail Biting Last Five Minutes Of The Match
Another opportunity for a penalty corner conversion was created in favour of India and they made
perfect use of it with captain Uttam Singh scoring to put India ahead with just three minutes left.
The young Indian side then showed plenty of stamina and character to successfully ward off the
pressure from the Dutch team. All eyes were on India’s defence Rohit, who blocked six successive
penalty corners in the final quarter, ensuring India emerged victorious. He was awarded Player of the
Match for his efforts in this adrenaline-charged match.
India will play Germany in the first FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2023 semi-final on Thursday.
Bengali