Junior Hockey World Cup 2025: Sreejesh laments India conceding easy goals after semifinal loss to Germany
India’s head coach, P. R. Sreejesh, attributed his side’s crushing 1-5 defeat to seven-time champion Germany to execution failures and “silly mistakes” in the FIH Men’s Junior World Cup semifinal on Sunday.
“We didn’t play well, that’s it,” a disappointed Sreejesh stated after the match. “We gave them easy opportunities, silly mistakes, conceded goals….”
He stressed that though India had plans for Germany, its inability to execute them made it “an easy walk” for the opponent. Sreejesh highlighted that the manner in which his team conceded was the main issue.
“Winning and losing matter a lot; it doesn’t matter if you lose 1-0 or 10-0, it’s the same, but the problem is how we concede the goals. We need to focus on that first,” Sreejesh said.
“You need to defend well first, and then you need to attack and create opportunities. We were not converting our opportunities, giving them easy opportunities to score, and that made the difference.”
The two-time Olympic medallist emphasised that in a high-pressure game, there is no scope for committing errors.
“We can’t commit easy, silly mistakes. You can’t give them space, and that’s really important,” the coach said, then pointing out a specific defensive lapse, “I told my players that they shouldn’t allow the opponents to get into the centre, but they allowed, and the Germans were able to create opportunities. That’s the one area I really felt bad about.”
The Blue Colts started the game slowly and were under the pump from the get-go. It looked like the pressure of the occasion got the better of them. The former Indian goalkeeper noted that mentality played a huge role in the semifinals.
RELATED: India beaten comprehensively by Germany in Junior World Cup semifinal
“Yes, mentality matters a lot in big games, and when you are committing silly mistakes, it puts you in a self-doubt mode. The pressure builds inside. This is a learning experience for them, and they will get better with it,” he explained.
When asked if India could have adopted the European style to counter Germany, Sreejesh pointed out India’s unique playing style.
“I just want my players to play our game; we can’t copy-paste European style. We Indians have our own flavour, and we just need to play our game. When you are playing their game, it’s quite easy for them to match up, but if we play our game, it’s going to be hard for them to match us. We forgot that,” Sreejesh said.
Looking ahead to the bronze-medal match against Argentina, the coach concluded with a strong message for his players.
“There is one more match left, which can help you to win at least one medal, and that is really important rather than crying about today’s match… going back empty-handed is more painful,” he said.
Published on Dec 08, 2025