Junior Hockey World Cup 2016: 5 things you should know

#3 Canadian team with an Indian connection

Balraj Panesar, Canadian captain in action at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympic Games. Image credits: Getty

The Canadian squad features 13 players with an Indian connection, with two of them actually being born in India while the rest have an Indian origin. Captain Balraj Panesar also has desi roots, hailing from the heartland of Punjab.

The teams’ Sikh gaffer, Inderpal Sehmbi is also positive about the his boys’ outing at the World Cup, he was quoted as saying to the Hindustan Times that, “I see this tournament as an opportunity for the players to get better so that in the next 5-6 years they get to play for the senior side.We were not even surprised by the way our seniors played against India at Rio (Canada drew 2-2 against India). We aren’t here with any special plan, but we are here to play good hockey.”