"VAN" (Sports Desk - 29.11.2025) :: The first day of the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Tamil Nadu 2025 was highlighted by a festival of goals in Madurai and Chennai, as well as a grandiose opening ceremony.
Belgium’s attacking 12-1 victory over Namibia led the list of big wins on Day 1 that saw 16 of the 24 teams in action from Pool A, B, C and D. The remaining eight teams will begin their respective campaigns on Day 2 of the tournament.
Here’s how the results panned out – studded with as many as four hat-tricks:
Germany vs South Africa (Full-Time Score: 4-0)
Germany began their title-defence with a characteristic bold performance against South Africa in Pool A at Madurai, registering a 4-0 victory. The victory was led by a brace from the ‘Player of the Match’ Justus Warweg, who scored the first goal of this Junior World Cup in the 19th minute with a field effort – deflecting the ball into the net, connecting a cross at the goal-mouth.
After going into half-time leading 1-0, Germany came out to add a cushion in the 43rd minute off a penalty stroke, as Ben Hasbach made no mistake.
Captain Paul Glander put the game further beyond the South Africans with a penalty-corner conversion a minute later to increase Germany’s lead to 3-0 at the end of third quarter. Warweg’s second field goal in the 56th minute put the lid on the game for a comfortable win for the Germans.
Speaking after the game, Warweg said: “It was a tough game. They (South Africa) are great opponents. I think we have the team to defend the title. I am very proud (of my performance) and our first three points. I hope there are more to come.”
Canada vs Ireland (Full-Time Score: 3-4)
The second Pool A game of the day turned out to be a see-saw battle before Ireland held their nerves to edge out Canada 4-3.
The Irish team had their skipper and striker Louis Rowe to thank for his twin strikes in the 13th and the 33rd minute, with the other two goals coming off the sticks of Gregory Williams (35th) and Milo Thompson (41st). Gurnoor Bhullar 26th minute strike kept Canada in the game, with Leighton de Souza giving Ireland a scare with two penalty-corner goals in 48th and the 53rd minute to make it 4-3 and putting the final seven minutes on a knife’s edge. But Ireland put up a valiant defence to defeat the Canadians.
“I am happy to get the first goal, especially because we were under the cosh a little bit at the start,” said Rowe, analysing the game. Nice to get the first goal to start the tournament off. We probably got a bit complacent and let them back in, but we are happy to hang on to win and get three points.”
Argentina vs Japan (Full-Time Score: 4-1)
Two-time winners Argentina kicked off their campaign in Pool C on a winning note against Japan as they didn’t take time to get on the board, scoring in just the second minute off a penalty corner converted by Nicolas Rodriguez.
Japan held firm for the next 20 minutes before Mateo Torrigiani added a cushion to take Argentina to half-time leading 2-0.
After a goal-less third quarter, the South Americans increased their lead to 3-0 off the stick of Bruno Correa in the 51stminute. Japan cut the lead to 3-1 with a goal from Naru Kimura two minutes later, but Rodriguez’s second penalty-corner goal restored the three-goal margin with four minutes left to play.
“It’s important to start with a win; we are very happy. Japan is a hard rival but we were confident. India is fantastic. The atmosphere is happy all the time,” said Argentina’s Matias Andreotti.
Spain vs Egypt (Full-Time Score: 8-0)
Last edition’s bronze medallists Spain humbled Egypt 8-0 to open proceedings in Pool D on a prolific note. The star of the big win for the Spaniards was Bruno Avila, who put up a show with his penalty-corner strikes to score the tournament’s first hat-trick.
Besides Avila, Josep Martin was the other player who got his name on the score-sheet twice with his double. Albert Serrahima, Ton Moran and Andres Medina were the others to breach the Egyptian defence that looked hapless against Spain’s relentless incisive runs in the striking circle.
“I am very happy and playing here (in India) is always a pleasure,” said Avila after the game. “All my goals came off PCs. I think the team is playing well and we are now focused on the next match. It’s just the first match, so (let’s) keep calm.”
New Zealand vs China (Full-Time Score: 5-3)
New Zealand’s Jonty Elmes began his Junior World Cup with a hat-trick to secure three points for his team with a 5-3 win over China.
A penalty stroke in the 8th minute got the Black Sticks on the board as Elmes converted from the spot and then scored twice in the 25th minute to complete his hat-trick.
New Zealand looked set for a big win, leading 5-0 at half-time as Sam Lints and Owen Brown added to Jonty’s hat-trick. But China improved their game in the last two quarters, scoring thrice off penalty corners. Wang Yubo scored two goals and Zhang Jialiang scored one in China's comeback bid. But the New Zealanders thwarted all Chinese attacks in the last five minutes to take full points.
Looking at his team’s performance after the match, NZ captain Gus Nelson said: “The first half was really good (for us), but the second half not that much. Great to be here in India with some awesome fans. I think we need a bit of urgency in setting up our press.”
Belgium vs Namibia (Full-Time Score: 12-1)
Belgium, who have never won the Junior Men’s World Cup, made their attacking intentions clear with a 12-1 romp of tournament debutants Namibia, for whom the only happy moment of the game was their first World Cup goal – scored by Mathew Lassen off a penalty corner.
But that was it for the newcomers in a game that turned into a shooting exhibition for the Red Lions, with Mathis Lauwers leading the rout with four field goals and Hugo Labouchere becoming the second Belgian to score a hat-trick in the game.
Enjoying their day in Madurai were also Belgium captain Lucas Balthazar, who scored twice, and Benjamin Thiery, Mathias Francois and Nathan Rogge who struck once each.
Belgium captain Balthazar expressed his happiness on the team’s show. “We are very happy about our performance. I think everybody took pleasure, which was the main objective,” he said. “To come out of the game with a big smile and a lot of goals, we are very happy with that. We can still look at a lot of stuff in the footage from this game (to improve further). I think we have to improve the maturity of our game, especially learning how to not concede a goal during our down moments.”
Oman vs Switzerland (Full-Time Score: 0-4)
The Swiss team rode on Mattia Ribaudo’s brace to secure full points in their opening match of Pool B against Oman.
After Jonathan Baumbach scored the game’s opening goal in the 15th minute, Ribaudo converted two penalty corners in the 23rd and 58th minutes to keep Oman at bay. In between, Leonard Kraxner too got on the board for the Swiss team in the 33rd minute.
“It’s a crazy feeling. I can’t describe it in words,” said Baumbach about playing in front of a boisterous crowd. “I am very happy to be here and to play here. It’s an amazing feeling for me. It’s unbelievable (to have scored the first goal for Switzerland in a Junior World Cup).”
India vs Chile (Full-Time Score: 7-0)
The crowd saved its loudest roars for the last on the opening day, when hosts India entered the pitch at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium in Chennai – the other host city of the tournament apart from Madurai, following a rousing Opening Ceremony.
Expected to romp home to a win in the opener, India made a statement with their 7-0 victory in Pool B, which was fashioned by brace each from attacking midfielder Rosan Kujur and striker Dilraj Singh. Ajeet Yadav, Anmol Ekka and Rohit scored once each to make it a seven-star performance for the two-time winners, while Chile kept chasing the game for the entire 60 minutes.
“Great feeling for me and the team,” said Rohit after India’s win. “In the first quarter we played okay, but then we had good rhythm and finished well. We scored seven goals which gives players the confidence to maybe repeat it in the next match.”
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