Early on Friday in Chile, Indian women’s U21 team played their third group-stage match at the FIH Junior World Cup againt Ireland, making it two wins out three matches to be on six points. But, as all group-stage matches came to an end on Saturday, India ended up missing out on place in the quarterfinals, as the tourmament’s new format ended their hopes of progressing to the business end.
In their match against Ireland, India set the tone from the start with nine circle penetrations in the first quarter and the opening goal in the 12th minute, when Kanikac Siwach finished a field play after sustained high pressing. Ireland, by contrast, were unable to generate penalty corners and produced only one circle entry, relying on a compact defensive block to withstand India’s superiority.
In the second quarter India kept control, earning three consecutive penalty corners and creating seven additional entries, though without increasing the lead. After half-time, the Asian side intensified their dominance: nine more circle penetrations and the 2–0 goal from a penalty corner converted by Purnima Yadav in the 42nd minute. In the final quarter, India closed the match with two late goals: Sakshi Rana made it 3–0 in the 57th minute with a superb solo effort and Yadav completed her brace moments later for the 4–0 final score. India finished with 30 circle entries and eight penalty corners, while Ireland had 11 entries and none from the set play, in a match controlled from start to finish.
But six points and a superb goal difference of 15 wasn’t enough for India as their defeat against Germany proved costly. While India finished with two big wins, two other groups had teams unbeaten from three matches to reach seven points. In a 24-team tournament, expanded to this number for the first time, six pool winners gain auotmatic qualification for quarterfinals. The remaining two spots were reserved for two best second-placed teams.
In Pool A, Belgium and Argentina both reached 7 points with two wins and a draw. The sixth day of the Junior World Cup was marked by Belgium’s historic 21–0 win over Zimbabwe, the widest margin ever recorded in the tournament. The European side were led by Agathe Favart, who scored four goals, supported by hat-tricks from Alexi Van Remortel, Chloé Delhalle and Emilie Verhees. In the last match of the pool stage, played under persistent rain at the Centro Deportivo de Hockey Césped, Argentina dominated from the outset for a 8-0 win.
In Pool D, it was China and England who reached 7 points. China continue to establish themselves as the best Asian team in women’s hockey, with the senior powerhouses now translating it to the U21 level. India’s best bet was for China to lose or draw against South Africa but China took control from the start, with six circle entries and three penalty corners in the first quarter and eventually converting it into a 4-0 win. England thrashed Austria 7-0 in the other match of the group.
Jyoti Singh’s India will next play Wales as they enter the classification stage for places 9 to 16 in the tournament.
Fixtures:
Sunday 7 December (local time in Chile)
Classification 9–16 – 09:00 – Uruguay vs South Africa
Classification 9–16 – 11:15 – Japan vs Korea
Classification 17–24 – 13:30 – New Zealand vs Austria
Classification 9–16 – 15:45 – Spain vs Ireland
Classification 17–24 – 18:00 – Chile vs Zimbabwe
Classification 9–16 – 20:15 – India vs Wales
Monday 8 December
Classification 17–24 – 09:00 – Canada vs Malaysia
Classification 17–24 – 11:15 – Scotland vs Namibia
Quarter-final 1 – 13:30 – Netherlands vs England
Quarter-final 2 – 15:45 – United States vs Belgium
Quarter-final 3 – 18:00 – Australia vs China
Quarter-final 4 – 20:15 – Germany vs Argentina
(With FIH inputs)