India secured the bronze medal at the FIH Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup 2025 Wednesday, overcoming a two-goal deficit to defeat Argentina 4-2 at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium in Chennai. Trailing 0-2 deep into the match, the hosts produced a blistering four-goal burst in the final eight minutes to end a nine-year wait for a podium finish at the tournament.
The match began poorly for India, who conceded just two minutes in when Anmol Ekka’s shoulder charge on Lautaro Martinez resulted in a penalty stroke. Nicolas Rodriguez converted calmly to give Argentina an early lead.
India struggled to find rhythm or possession dominance for three quarters, and their situation worsened in the 44th minute. Federico Hanselmann set up Santiago Fernandez, whose reverse stroke doubled Argentina's lead, leaving India staring at defeat with just 15 minutes remaining.
The final quarter witnessed a dramatic tactical shift led by forward Arshdeep Singh, who tirelessly won set-pieces for the side. In the 48th minute, India finally broke through using a penalty corner variation, as Ankit Pal deflected Anmol Ekka’s drag-flick past goalkeeper Joaquin S. Ruiz.
With the crowd roaring, India struck again just four minutes later. Using a similar routine, Manmeet Singh redirected another powerful ground flick from Anmol into the top corner, leveling the score at 2-2 and shifting the momentum entirely to the home side.
The turnaround was completed in the 57th minute when Arshdeep was bundled over inside the circle by Argentine captain Tomas Ruiz, earning a penalty stroke. Sharda Nand Tiwari stepped up to fire India into a 3-2 lead. Argentina removed their goalkeeper in a desperate bid to equalize, but Anmol; who had conceded the opening stroke, completed his redemption arc.
He smashed home a penalty corner in the dying moments to seal the 4-2 victory. "Arshdeep has had these qualities from the beginning, so we told him go forward and just try to get some PCs for us," captain Rohit noted regarding the strategy.
Head coach PR Sreejesh, who had termed the semifinal loss to Germany "painful," credited the players' mental resilience for the result. Describing the message given to the team before the final quarter, Sreejesh said, "I told them to bring that energy. You can’t take it easy when you are down 0-2. Once you come out of this line, there is no space for regret."
He added that the win was the best experience the juniors could have for their development. "For juniors, a World Cup comes with huge pressure. They faced it. They won that challenge. What else do you want as a coach?"
