The first day of the FIH Hockey Men\u2019s Junior World Cup Tamil Nadu 2025 was highlighted by a festival of goals in Madurai and Chennai, as well as a grandiose opening ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The crowd saved its loudest roars for the last match on the opening day, when hosts India entered the pitch at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium in Chennai \u2013 the other host city of the tournament apart from Madurai, following a rousing Opening Ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGreat feeling for me and the team,\u201d said Rohit after India\u2019s win. \u201cIn 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Belgium\u2019s attacking 12-1 victory over Namibia led the list of big wins on Day 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Belgium vs Namibia (Full-Time Score: 12-1)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Belgium, who have never won the Junior Men\u2019s 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 \u2013 scored by Mathew Lassen off a penalty corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Belgium captain Balthazar expressed his happiness on the team\u2019s show. \u201cWe are very happy about our performance. I think everybody took pleasure, which was the main objective,\u201d he said. \u201cTo 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Germany vs South Africa (Full-Time Score: 4-0)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 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 \u2018Player of the Match\u2019 Justus Warweg, who scored the first goal of this Junior World Cup in the 19th<\/sup>minute with a field effort \u2013 deflecting the ball into the net, connecting a cross at the goal-mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After going into half-time leading 1-0, Germany came out to add a cushion in the 43rd<\/sup>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\u2019s lead to 3-0 at the end of third quarter. Warweg\u2019s second field goal in the 56th<\/sup>minute put the lid on the game for a comfortable win for the Germans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking after the game, Warweg said:\u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n