‘Germany eye hat-trick of titles’
Germany’s junior hockey team coach Valentin Altenburg said that hosts India will be one of the contenders to win the FIH Junior World Cup set to begin in Lucknow on Thursday.
“India are going to be a big favourite this World Cup and I know they have been working hard for more than two years. India coach Harendra Singh is doing a great job with the team spirit they have,” Altenburg said.
The coach believes that competing in the annual Hockey India League has given the players exposure for big ticket events. “All the players are individually strong and almost everyone has played the HIL which helps them a lot to understand the highest level of hockey as they have played with or against some of the finest players in the world. I think if any team want to be world champions, then they have to beat India,” Altenburg said.
Two-time consecutive winners of the Junior World Cup (2009 and 2013), the German national squad descended to Lucknow hoping to bag a hat-trick of titles.
For the record, Germany have won the Junior World Cup six times making them the most decorated team in the marquee event for the youth teams across the globe.
“Yes, we have won the World Cup six times and we are here for a hat-trick.
“The World Cup happens once in four years and for many players it’s a one-time opportunity to play the World Cup and win the World Cup. So it’s not too difficult to motivate the team to do it again and this time they are chasing the goal of a hat-trick,” said Altenburg, who was also the head coach of the senior men’s squad that took the bronze at the Rio Olympics.
Altenburg has been closely working with this junior team for close to three-and-a-half years and he believes this World Cup will be a stepping stone towards spotting players who will go on to play for the senior squad.
“We already have a couple of Under-21 players who have played for the senior team and Timm Herzbruch played at the Olympics too. We see this as a stepping stone towards being on top of the world in hockey and the Junior World Cup is the stage where you can see who can be your future,” he added.
Germany had lost to India in the final of the four-nations tournament held in Valencia, Spain, in October this year.
Germany are placed in Pool C along with Japan, New Zealand and Spain.