"Semi-final against Germany is an opportunity for us to take the revenge" - Uttam Singh after quarter-final win in FIH Men's Junior World Cup 2023
The Indian team sealed its spot in the semi-finals of the FIH Men’s Junior World Cup 2023 with a 4-3 win over the Netherlands in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Following the victory, Uttam Singh shared his thoughts on facing Germany in the semi-finals on Thursday.
The India skipper recalled the 4-2 loss against Germany in the 2019 Junior World Cup semi-final encounter even as he sounded keen to exact revenge on Thursday.
Addressing the media, he said:
“We played against Germany last time in the Junior World Cup. I played only as a player for India at that time. We went down to Germany by 4-2. It was very difficult for us to cope with that defeat because World Cup was played after 5 years.
“We felt really bad about that defeat and the upcoming semi-final against Germany is an opportunity for us to take the revenge. I am very fortunate that I am again playing the World Cup,” he added.
The Indian skipper highlighted Germany's dominating performance against India in the big events. He said that his team would ensure they don't repeat the mistakes that India did in the previous encounters.
“Germany is a pretty good team and we suffered defeat in whatever matches we have played against them. We will try to find out the reason behind those defeats and analyze their strength," the Indian skipper said.
"We’ll make sure we won’t repeat the mistakes we made in the previous encounters. I am hoping the semi-final to be an interesting encounter,” he added.
India beat the Netherlands 4-3 in the FIH Men's Junior World Cup 2023 quarter-final
The Indian team put on a spirited effort in the Men's Junior World Cup 2023 quarter-final, despite trailing 0-2 in the first half. The Netherlands dominated the play in the first half and denied India any opportunity to gain any momentum.
Timo Boers opened the Netherlands’ account in the fifth minute, while Pepijn van der Heijden converted the penalty corner in the 16th minute to help the hosts take a 2-0 lead going into half-time.
Despite trailing 2-0, India didn’t let their guard down and made a phenomenal comeback in the second half. They played rather aggressively as Aditya Arjun Lalage produced the team's opening goal in the 34th minute.
Only a minute later, Araijeet got an opportunity to convert the penalty corner and he didn’t disappoint. Netherlands again took the lead when Olivier Hortensius converted a penalty in the closing moments of the third quarter but Sourabh Kushwaha found the equalizer in the 52nd minute.
It was skipper Uttam Singh, who scored the winning goal via penalty corner in the 57th minute, helping India reach the semis of the Men's Junior World Cup 2023.