Lucknow:
Hosts India clinched the Junior World Cup Hockey title by beating Belgium 2-1 in the grand finale played out on Sunday evening at the Dhyan Chand Stadium in Lucknow. The summit clash proved to be a one-sided affair with the hosts completely overpowering their European counterpart.
Indian colts finally ended their 15-year title drought by lifting the trophy in front of their home crowd in a jam-packed Dhyan Chand. The Man of the Match award has been given to Gurjant Singh for his sensational performance.
The Indian juniors made the country proud by lifting the coveted trophy on home soil and also become the first host nation to lift the trophy.
India had made it to the finals by beating pre-tournament favourites Australia 4-2 on penalties in the semifinals. Indian colts edged past the Aussies in a thrilling penalty shootout on Friday.
Also read: Junior Hockey World Cup final | India vs Belgium: As it happened
The Indians took the attack to the opposition from the very start and the soon reaped the rewards of a sustained attack with Gurjant Singh netting the opening goal in just 8 mins. Before the Belgians could make any sort of recovery, Simranjeet doubled India's lead by scoring a spectacular goal in the 22nd minute.
Also read: India wins Junior Hockey World Cup | Know more about stars Gurjant, Simranjeet
The Indians were all dominating all through the first half and enjoyed a great deal of the ball possession. India ended the first half with a commanding 2-0 lead.
Even in the second half, Indian colts continued their dominating performance in the second half and never allowed the opposition team to score the goal. It was only a few crucial moments in the match that Belgium scored a goal and somehow hurt the Indian players celebrating a probable win.
Time on the clock went up but Belgium was awarded a penalty corner. The game was not wrapped up and taking advantage of it, Belgium scored a goal.
Meanwhile, Earlier on Sunday before the finals, former champions Germany overpowered Australia (3-0) to settle for the bronze medal.
Final Award ceremony:
Man of the Match: Gurjant Singh of India
Up and Coming Player of the tournament: Timm Herzbruch of Germany
Goalkeeper of the tournament: Loic van Doren of Belgium
Top scorer of the tournament: Edward Horler of England with 8 goals
Player of the tournament: Enrique Gonzalez de Castejon from Spain
