The hosts, India, and defending champions, Germany, delivered commanding performances on the second day of the FIH Hockey World Cup for Junior Men in Tamil Nadu, a 14-day global event featuring 24 teams.

India overpowered debutants and last-minute entrants Oman with a resounding 17-0 win, while Germany secured their second consecutive victory by defeating Canada 7-0. The early results highlighted the stark differences in skill levels among participating teams, underscoring the gap that several lower-ranked teams still need to bridge to compete effectively at major international tournaments such as the World Cup and the Olympic Games.

Across the first two days of competition, 122 goals were scored in 16 completed matches, averaging more than seven goals per game. This figure significantly exceeds the five-goal average recorded over the previous 13 editions of the tournament. Before the 2025 edition began on November 28, a total of 3,262 goals had been scored in 648 Junior World Cup matches. The trend of heavily lopsided results is expected to prompt the International Hockey Federation to explore ways of supporting emerging teams to make future competitions more competitive and engaging for spectators.

In one of the closely contested matches, the Netherlands edged England 5-3. South Africa also secured full points after a hard-fought 2-1 win against Ireland.

The home crowd at the packed stadium witnessed India’s dominant display against Oman, with eight Indian players finding their names on the scoresheet. Arshdeep scored in the 4th, 33rd and 40th minutes; Manmeet Singh in the 17th, 26th and 36th; Anmol Ekka in the 29th; Dilraj Singh in the 29th, 32nd, 50th and 57th; Ajeet Yadav in the 34th and 47th; Luwong Ingalemba in the 43rd; Gurjot Singh in the 39th and 45th; and Sharda Nand Tiwari in the 55th minute.

With two wins in as many matches and a total of 24 goals, India now leads the standings. Switzerland, also unbeaten in two games, sits in second place after a narrow 3-2 victory over Chile. The top position in the pool will be determined when India and Switzerland face off in their final group match.

Malaysia recorded its first win of the tournament by defeating Austria 5-1. France opened its campaign in emphatic fashion with an 11-1 victory over Korea. Bangladesh endured a difficult start, falling to Australia 3-5 in another high-scoring encounter.

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