Upbeat India eye Germany scalp en route to title defence

Bhubaneswar: High-flying defending champions India would bank on their solid defensive structure and drag-flicking prowess to outsmart six-time title-winners Germany in the semifinal of the FIH Junior Men's Hockey World Cup at the Kalinga Stadium here on Friday.

After a disappointing start to the tournament when they were stunned 4-5 by France, India lifted their game by leaps and bounds to qualify for their second consecutive semifinal in the Junior World Cup.

India produced a defensive master-class on Wednesday to eke out a narrow 1-0 win over European giants Belgium with the likes of Yashdeep Siwach, vice-captain Sanjay Kumar and Shardanand Tiwai shinning bright in the backline. India's two goalkeepers -- Prasanth Chauhan and Pawan, in particular --, were terrific against Belgium and produced some breath-taking saves to deny their opponents.

With four quality penalty corner specialists -- Sanjay, Tiwari, Araijeet Singh Hundal and Abhishek Lakra -- in their ranks, India's strength lies in set pieces and it has been quite evident in the tournament so far.

In fact, India's winner against Belgium came from a penalty corner through Tiwari after he was brilliantly set up by a dummy from Sanjay. Even though Sanjay didn't score in the quarterfinal, he still remains India's best bet from set pieces and has already registered back-to-back hat-tricks against France and Poland in the pool stages.

The hallmark of India's performance against Belgium was the calm and composed mindset of the players when put under pressure and chief coach Graham Reid too accepted the fact.