FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2023 Points Table: Updated standings after India vs Spain, Match 16

The Indian men's junior hockey team suffered a 4-1 defeat against Spain in the Men's FIH Hockey Junior World Cup Pool C fixture on Thursday, December 7 in Kuala Lumpur.

Spain captain Andreas Rafi and Cabre Verdiell Pol struck a brace each while India's solitary goal in the 33rd minute, thanks to Rohit. Spain dominated against India right from the word go in the first quarter. With accurate passes and calmness on the field, Spain went into the first half with a 2-0 lead.

With the commendable victory, Spain has topped the points table of Pool C, which also includes India, Korea, and Canada. Andreas Rafi's young men have won both their fixtures so far against Korea and India.

Meanwhile, Korea and India are placed second and third, respectively, with three points each. Canada is yet to find a win in the group stage and they play against India in their last fixture on Saturday, December 9.

Pool A

Position	Team	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1	Argentina	3	3	0	0	13	0	13	9
2	Australia	3	2	0	1	12	4	8	6
3	Malaysia	3	1	0	2	9	10	-1	3
4	Chile	3	0	0	3	2	22	-20	0

Pool B

Position	Team	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1	France	3	3	0	0	10	5	5	9
2	Germany	3	2	0	1	15	5	10	6
3	South Africa	3	1	0	2	10	12	-2	3
4	Egypt	3	0	0	3	3	16	-13	0

Pool C

Position	Team	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1	Spain	2	2	0	0	11	1	10	6
2	Korea	2	1	0	1	6	5	1	3
3	India	2	1	0	1	5	6	-1	3
4	Canada	2	0	0	2	1	11	-10	0

Pool D

Position	Team	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1	Pakistan	2	1	1	0	7	3	4	4
2	Netherlands	2	1	1	0	8	6	2	4
3	Belgium	2	1	0	1	7	5	2	3
4	New Zealand	2	0	0	2	0	8	-8	0

How did India lose to Spain?

Pol Cabre Verdiell gave India a major setback in the first minute. India attempted to counterattack but the Spanish players were too good to negate it with short and accurate passes. They took a 2-0 lead moving into the first-half break.

Despite some intense attacking strides pushed by the Indian forwards in the second half, they couldn't put the ball past the Spain goalkeeper Capellades Jan. However, Rohit's persistence paid off well as India found the back of the net through a penalty corner three minutes into the third quarter.

The celebrations lasted for a very short time as Spain extended the lead after Verdiell converted a penalty corner. Spain's skipper added to the woes in the final minute with his second goal of the day.

India will play against Korea in a do-or-die final league game for a spot in the knockout stage.

About the author

Viransh is an Indian Sports journalist, who covers Table Tennis, Hockey, Badminton, Squash and Volleyball at Sportskeeda. His BMM degree in Journalism initially paved the way for his entry into sports writing and he has around 3.5 years of professional experience.

Viransh has a knack of getting on the ground at times in search of stories, but always ensures to verify them from multiple sources and exercises patience when gathering all relevant facts for the stories presented in his articles. His methods have helped build a strong authority in his field and he has interviewed star Indian cricketer Suryakumar Yadav’s club coach Vinayak Mane, and Arjuna Award winning Table Tennis paddler Sreeja Akula.

Viransh's interest in Indian sports piqued after PV Sindhu’s silver medal win at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and was further intensified by Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal win at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He admires legendary Indian Table Tennis paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal for his grind, his achievements and his resilience. According to him, Sharath Kamal’s bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games in mixed doubles with Manika Batra paved the way for a host of emerging stars in Table Tennis.

During his free time, he consumes all forms of sports content and also watches regional Indian cinema.

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Edited by Ankush Das