New Delhi, 26 May (Hindustan Times). The Indian junior men’s hockey team made a thrilling start to their campaign in the ongoing Junior Asia Cup 2023 in Oman by winning two consecutive matches. In their opening Pool A match, the Indian team registered an emphatic 18-0 win over Chinese Taipei and followed it up with a 3-1 win over Japan on Thursday. Now on Saturday, the Indian junior men’s hockey team will take on their arch-rivals Pakistan in the group stage.

Ahead of the match, Indian junior men’s hockey team captain Uttam Singh said, “We have started the tournament on a strong note and we would like to carry forward with the same mindset against Pakistan. Our first two wins have given us the confidence we need.” We needed that to get through the tournament. Pakistan also have a strong side and it will be a close contest.”

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p style=”text-align: justify;”>Meanwhile, Pakistan have also made an impressive start to the tournament by thrashing Chinese Taipei 15-1 in their first game and Thailand 9-0 in their second game. Uttam Singh said, “Our defensive unit is good but Pakistan also have good attackers. But we have faced similar challenges in the past and we are confident that we will be able to stop them from scoring.”

The two teams last met in the 2015 Men’s Junior Asia Cup final, which India won 6–2. Since 2011, the India junior men’s field hockey team and Pakistan junior men’s field hockey team have met seven times, with India winning five times and Pakistan once, with one match ending in a tie.

Indian junior men’s hockey team head coach CR Kumar said, “Playing against Pakistan is always a challenge. We have to stay calm and play to our strengths.”