By Gitika Sharma
It came in a one-sided match between India and Switzerland, with India winning at 5-0 to claim the Pool B top spot at the FIH Junior Men’s World Cup 2025. The team coached by P. R. Sreejesh moved into the quarterfinals after securing 9 points in 3 matches.
Manmeet Singh delighted the throng of fans at the Madurai International Hockey Stadium when he scored within two minutes of being cleared by the Swiss defence. Manmeet scored his second goal with a midfield conversion off a fast ground pass from Priyobarta Talem. Sharda Nand Tiwari has converted a penalty corner to ensure the Blue Colts left the second quarter comfortably in the lead.
Attempts to secure Scrape from midfield were made, and the defence tried to scoop passes with willing runners across the baseline without success. Late in the second quarter, Arshdeep Singh scored with a reverse hit with his back to the goal, increasing India’s lead.
And Switzerland was back for revenge after the half-time break. Princedeep Singh, the goalkeeper, was called into action; He kicked with a kick that cut off the back of his shirt and made a full-length dive to get the ball away with his stick. The custodian ended off a nice quarter with an eye-catching penalty stroke save against Yannick Hug.
The last 15 minutes of play became a match of physicality, and with the home team still a long way from fluent, the door was open for an unlikely win. Sharda Nand hit the bottom left corner with the second penalty corner conversion of the day, ending that hope and sealing a 5-0 victory.
In the final eight, India will face Belgium, which ended up being among the best second-placed teams. Australia plays 9 to 16 spots. Despite having a 3-1 win over South Korea at the SDAT-Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, which added up to six in Pool F, the 1997 champion is undone by a slight goal difference (-1) in comparison with the other second-placed teams across the groups. France bested debutant Bangladesh to top the pool and confirm Australia’s exit.