2001 was a watershed year for Indian hockey.
Baylor Bears Jerseys . India won the junior
World Cup - held in Hobart, Australia - for the first, and only, time. The
closest the country has come to the title since then was a fourth-place finish
in 2005.Ahead of Indias final against Belgium on Sunday, here are some key
members of the 2001 World Cup-winning side on their experience:On the team and
its preparations in the run-up:Viren Rasquinha (Midfielder): We were pretty
confident heading into the tournament. We had a very good team and we had
excellent training sessions for a month and a half in Hyderabad.I remember being
in our hotel rooms in Hyderabad when we heard of the 9/11 attacks. We were
stunned. We didnt know if the tour would go on since international travel looked
difficult. Mercifully, it did.For many of us, it was our first big junior-level
tournament. We were just focused on our first pool stage since it was a
complicated format with an initial league phase followed by top two teams
advancing to the second group phase. We had a rudimentary set up: the place
where we were put up wasnt great, the ground where we trained in Begumpet wasnt
good either and the boys from the North hated the food there, but the mark of a
wonderful team is its ability to tide over all challenges. Thats what we
did.Gagan Ajit Singh (Captain): It was incredible to have led the Indian side to
a historic win. We had a tough pre-tournament camp in Hyderabad and that set us
up well. Every morning when we went for a run in Hobart, we took a route which
would allow us a glimpse of the trophy, kept on display in a glass case in a
showroom. It made our yearning for the title stronger.Jugraj Singh (Defender):
The place where we stayed in Hyderabad during the World Cup training camp was
quite shabby. The food was horrible. When current FIH president and then
national federation secretary Narinder Batra visited us, we explained our plight
to him. He spoke to the hotel manager and paid from his pocket, requesting
better food arrangements for the players.It was a great team, a combination of
youth and experience with most of the players having played alongside each other
for a long time. While all the other teams stayed at plush hotels in Hobart, we
were put up in a small motel, part of which was still under construction.On the
matches and the teams performance:Viren: We were in for a culture shock when we
landed in the thinly-populated town of Hobart. The roads were empty, a car
passed by the motel only once every 15 minutes and coming from the crowd of
India, we wondered if there was some sort of a bandh (strike) there.The ground
was picturesque, nestled between the mountains on one side and the sea on the
other. In some matches, it was tough to grip the stick because of the freezing
cold, made worse by the persistent rain.In the initial phase, we had easy wins
over Canada, Scotland and Spain. Winning our first match against Canada 5-0
helped settle nerves. We had a nightmare draw. In the second group phase, there
were two pools of four teams each and Australia, Netherlands and Argentina were
in our pool.Surprisingly, favourites Australia and Netherlands went out and
underdogs India and Argentina went through to the semis and eventually the
finals. We had a bad start to the second pool stage - we drew with Argentina 2-2
and lost to Australia 2-1, so we were almost out of the tournament and needed
not just to win our last match against Netherlands but also needed other results
to go our way.Luckily, Argentina beat Australia and Netherlands. We were leading
the Dutch 4-3 and they needed just a draw to progress. Netherlands got a penalty
corner towards the end and our semi-final spot was on the line. I was part of
the line defending the short corner and that was possibly the most
nerve-wracking moment of my entire career. Somehow we managed to save that
penalty corner.Our semi-final against reigning champions Germany was also tense.
We led them 3-0 at half-time but they stormed back after the break. They had
about 10 short corners and made it 3-2. We barely managed to keep them at bay.
After those two matches, we felt like we had aged by 10 years.Gagan: We started
with an effortless win over Canada. We managed to dominate most of the other
teams, except Australia, which was the only side we lost to during the entire
tournament.Jugraj:?We had a tough encounter against Argentina and were on the
verge of a loss, but managed to hold them to a draw, after which we lost to
Australia.After that defeat, we began to feel it was probably time for us to
pack our bags. When we were warming up against Netherlands, we felt it was
already all over. But we had underestimated ourselves.After our win, I remember
their coach remarking that the title now belonged to Germany (our next
opponents) now that Netherlands, the only team capable of stopping them, were
out of the tournament. German players, in fact, refused to shake hands with us
after we beat them in the semis and most of them were biting their palms out of
anger and frustration.On the final against Argentina:Viren:?In the final, we
were a relieved lot, we had nothing to lose. At the team meeting before the
final, we decided to play attacking, free-flowing hockey and stamp our authority
from the start. It was important because, like us, Argentina had performed way
above expectations right through the tournament.Our early goal opened the
floodgates. Deepak (Thakur) scored a brilliant hat-trick. Above all, it was just
an immense team effort.Gagan: On the eve of the final, a dinner was hosted for
the sides along with a photo-op for both captains along with the trophy. I
remember being courteous and offering the Argentina captain the first chance to
get photographed. I was shocked when he replied: You should get a picture now
because its your last chance. Tomorrow you wont get to see this trophy. Well be
taking it back with us to Argentina.We ended up beating Argentina 6-1. After our
win, I went up to him and asked whether he would like a picture with the trophy.
He turned pale and fumbled for words before declining.Jugraj: During our warm-up
for the final, we used the barbs that the Argentina captain threw at our captain
during the previous nights dinner to motivate the side: Unhonen bada tagda baat
kiya hai, iska jawaab toh dena padega (Theyve used very strong words and we must
give a befitting reply).Since we had struggled against Argentina in our
group-stage encounter, we decided to go all out this time. Thankfully, we kept
getting goal-scoring opportunities at regular intervals and were successful in
averting any attempt from their side. Deepak (Thakur) had a great backhand and
made the most of the first opportunity that came his way, entering the D to
score a brilliant goal. Two penalty corners came our way after that and I
managed to convert them both.When the scoreline was 3-0, the Argentinians looked
visibly desperate and went into offensive mode, which gave us a chance to
dominate them through counter-attacks.On the experience of being part of a
historic win:Viren: It cant be put into words. The magnitude of our achievement
hit us when we landed at Mumbai airport to find a sea of people waiting to
welcome us. That win changed the lives of most in the team. 13 of us went
straight into the senior team after the tournament and eight went on to feature
in the 2004 Olympics as well. It was only after our win that opportunities and
exposure for juniors improved.Gagan: The night of our win, national federation
president KPS Gill threw us a party which went on till early in the morning. The
win was also special for me because I was denied an opportunity to be a part of
the 1997 junior side, which went on to win silver.?Despite being the highest
scorer in the junior nationals that year, I was dropped from the national camp
for the junior World Cup for being too young to play for the country. I was 16
or 17.Though rising media support fetched me a call-up, I wasnt picked
eventually. So to not only be able to lead the side but also bring home the
trophy was an incredible feeling. Crackers burst as our train chugged into the
station. My home (in Firozpur, Punjab) is seven minutes away from the railway
station. That day it took me five hours.Jugraj: After the win, we danced to
Punjabi numbers on the ground. During the national camp in the run-up to the
World Cup, when we were chatting with the 1997 junior team members who had won
silver, one of them said: Kam se kam silver jeet ke aana, phir humse baat karna
(First at least bring home silver, then talk to us).These barbs gave us
motivation. Almost the entire junior team, barring a few, made it to the senior
team and produced some very good results through the next couple of years - the
2002 Busan Asian Games, close to three editions of the Champions Trophy and
practically all the top tournaments.On the title drought since and the current
junior teams chances:Viren: A combination of factors worked to our advantage: A
great team, wonderful coaching staff, very useful training sessions and a fair
share of luck. Not often do these factors come together. I dont think India has
since had such an incredible junior side which also explains why we havent won
the title thereafter.I think in 2005 we had a superb team and a very good
chance. This time, I think there arent any overwhelming favourites. Though India
will be playing at home, I wouldnt count it as a huge advantage.Gagan: We had an
exceptionally talented side with a great mix of energy, enthusiasm and
experience. The players were so connected to each other. Although its tough to
lay a finger on exactly why we havent won since, Im optimistic of the current
team faring well.Jugraj: I think we had a realistic chance of winning the title
in 2005. The current junior team also has a good number of players whove been
playing alongside each other for a long time. Keeping in mind the team
composition and its recent results, I will be surprised if they dont make the
finals.
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Hockey League action. Tennis hothead Nick Kyrgios has been left distraught by
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was fined $25,000 by the ATP and hit with an eight-week suspension -- reduced to
three if he sees a sports psychologist -- after he appeared to give up in his
second round match at the Shanghai Masters last week.The 21-year-old was
seemingly unconcerned on Sunday as he tweeted a series of celebratory emojis,
but then offered his apologies via a statement in which he admitted there was no
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