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Junior hockey team's performance lauded

India's junior hockey team coach C.R. Kumar today praised his young team for their "superb performance" in the recently-concluded eight-nation tournament at Poznan in Poland.

India finished runners-up in the tournament after losing to South Korea in the final over sudden-death.

"We have an excellent crop of budding stars," Kumar told media persons in Delhi this afternoon after the team's return from Poland.

He added that the team's performance in the under-21 tournament should rank India amongst the frontrunners for the next junior World Cup in Hobart, the capital of Tasmania, Australia.

India finished second in the last edition of the tournament two years ago, at Milton Keynes in England.

Meanwhile, speaking at a felicitation function for the team, Indian Hockey Federation chief K P S Gill lauded the performance of the team and said the federation has a resource pool of 50 juniors who would be eligible to represent the nation at Hobart. "From the team that went to Poland itself 14 players are within the age limit for the next junior World Cup," Gill said.

Vimal Kumar, the captain of the team, said that the Koreans were very confident in the final. "We took a two-goal lead, but the nippy Koreans fought back. Then we were up 4-2, but once more they struck to make it 4-4 at the end of the regulation period. However, in the tie-breaker, India had to suffer the ignominy of defeat."

The Indian coach said that the team began the eight-nation tournament well, winning the first two matches convincingly - against Egypt and Belgium. However, they went down gallantly to Germany in the last pool match, but qualified for the semi-finals by virtue of a better goal difference.

"Our pace was fast and we overcame hosts Poland in the last four," Kumar said. "The final should have been ours. The tie-breaker could have gone either way," he added.

UNI