India men's national under-21 field hockey team

The India men's national under-21 field hockey team represents India in men's under-21 field hockey competitions. It is governed by Hockey India, the governing body for field hockey in India. They are one of the most successful junior field hockey teams in the world, having won the World Cup twice and Asia Cup six times. India are the reigning World Cup bronze medallists and the Asian Champions, holding the title since 2015. The team is currently ranked 4th in the world and 1st in Asia.

History India junior team's first recorded international tournament is the inaugural 1979 Junior World Cup, where they finished 5th. They managed to finish 5th in the 1982 and 1985 World Cups consecutively. In the first ever Junior Asia Cup in 1988, they settled with a third place bronze and missed the 1989 Junior World Cup spot as only finalists could qualify for the World Cup. After the fourth place finish in 1992 Junior Asia Cup, they also failed to qualify for the 1993 Junior World Cup.

India won silver in the 1996 Junior Asia Cup and made a comeback to the World Cup, qualifying to the 1997 Junior World Cup. India started the 1997 World Cup with a narrow loss against Spain, but won against Netherlands, Cuba and Belgium. A draw with Australia took them to the semi-final, where they defeated Germany by 4–3 in the extra time. In their first World Cup final, against Australia, they lost by a goal margin as 2–3 and added a World Cup silver to their cabinet.

In the 2000 Junior Asia Cup, India won silver and made it to the 2001 Junior World Cup. They started the tournament by winning all the group stage clashes and entered the medal round. India drew with Argentina and lost 1–2 to Australia. In a must win game against Netherlands, India overcame them in a 7 goal thriller and qualified to the final four. In the semi-final against the then 4 time champions, Germany, India won by 3–2, despite conceding two late goals after taking a 3–0 lead. In their second World Cup final, against Argentina, India made history by winning their first ever Junior World Cup with a big 6–1 victory. They held the World champions and the Asian champions titles at the same time, when they won their first Junior Asia Cup in 2004, defeating arch-rivals Pakistan. India started their World title defence in 2005, with topping the group stage and medal round, beating Netherlands, Spain and England. However, they lost to Australia by 2–3 in semi final and missed the bronze against Spain in penalties.

They retained the Asia title in 2008, with a sudden death win over Korea in the final, as Diwakar Ram hit a golden goal through penalty corner. India could not get through the group stage in the 2009 Junior World Cup, but finished as the best in the non-medal round. India participated in the inaugural 2011 Sultan of Johor Cup and finished 4th. At the 2012 Junior Asia Cup, India clinched the bronze, with Akashdeep Singh scoring a golden goal against Korea. India hosted the Junior World Cup for the first time in 2013. The hosts did not qualify to the medal round as they lost to the Dutch and drew Korea, finishing 10th. They became the consecutive title winners of 2013 and 2014 Sultan of Johor Cup. India won their third Asia title in 2015 Junior Asia Cup, thrashing Pakistan 6–2 in the final.

India hosted the 2016 Junior World Cup, with hosts entered the quarter finals, beating England and South Africa in the group stage. In the quarter final clash against Spain, they trailed 0–1 for the most part of the game until Simranjeet Singh and Harmanpreet Singh gave 2–1 win and a place in the final four. India overcame Australia in the semi final through penalties, as goalkeeper Vikas Dahiya denied two opponents' goals and the hosts faced Belgium in the final. India won the Junior World Cup for the second time after 16 years, as Gurjant Singh and Simranjeet Singh helped in a 2–1 victory.

They missed back to back bronze medals in the 2021 and 2023 Junior World Cups, although qualifying up to the semi-finals in both. India won Junior Asia titles in 2023 and 2024.

India hosted the 2025 Men's FIH Hockey Junior World Cup for the third time. India finished high in the group and entered the knockout stage. The quarter final clash against Belgium went to penalties after 2–2 draw in the regulation time. Indian goal keeper Prince Deep Singh blocked Belgium's last 2 shots as India won 4–3. Germany denied India's way to the final and the hosts met Argentina for the bronze medal. The South Americans were leading 2–0 at the end of the third quarter before Indians found the net four times, in the final 11 minutes to win it 4–2. India extended their Asian title streak by winning the 2026 tournament.

Tournament record Junior World Cup Year Host Round Position Pld W D L GF GA1979 Versailles, FranceGroup stage 5th7 50225111982 Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaGroup stage 5th7 5113261985 Vancouver, CanadaGroup stage 5th8 51223111989 Ipoh, MalaysiaDid not qualify 1993 Terrassa, Spain1997 Milton Keynes, EnglandFinal7 41225152001 Hobart, AustraliaFinal861131112005 Rotterdam, NetherlandsSemi-finals4th8 51218132009 Johor Bahru, Malaysia SingaporeGroup stage 9th8 6114292013 New Delhi, IndiaGroup stage 10th5 22113112016 Lucknow, IndiaFinal65101782021 Bhubaneswar, IndiaSemi-finals 4th6 30329152023 Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaSemi-finals4th630321172025 Chennai and Madurai, IndiaSemi-finals 6411369 2027TBDQualified Total 2 Titles 82 53 10 19 312 136

Junior World Cup (1985) historyYearRoundScoreResult1985Group A 2–0 Loss 2–6 Win 4–3 Loss 4–0 Win 3–1 Win 0–0 Draw5/8 0–4 Win5/6 2–3 Win

Junior Asia Cup Year HostRound Position Pld W D L GF GA1988 Karachi, Pakistan–32013431992 Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaSemi-finals4th64112361996 SingaporeFinal64112182000 Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaFinal76016492004 Karachi, PakistanFinal65104752008 Hyderabad, IndiaFinal55001742012 Malacca, MalaysiaSemi-finals53111862015 Kuantan, MalaysiaFinal66003292021 Dhaka, BangladeshCancelled2023 Salalah, OmanFinal65105042024 Muscat, OmanFinal66004672026 Moqi, ChinaFinal6510468 Total 6 Titles 62 51 6 5 398 69

Junior Asia Cup (1988–2004) historyYearRoundScoreResult1988Round Robin 2–1 Win 32–0 Win 2–0 Loss1992Group B 4–2 Win 4–0 Win 2–1 Win 11–0 WinSemi final 1–0 Loss3/4 2–2 (p.s 4–1) Draw1996Group B 2–1 Loss 3–2 Win 9–0 Win 4–2 WinSemi final 2–0 WinFinal 2–2 (p.s 5–4) Draw2000Group B 5–1 Win 8–1 Win 9–2 Win 22–0 Win 16–1 WinSemi final 2–1 WinFinal 3–2 Loss 2004Group B 10–0 Win 17–1 Win 10–0 Win 5–2 WinSemi final 0–0 (p.s 4–3) DrawFinal 5–2 Win

Other tournaments Year HostPosition Pld W D L GF GA2011 Johor Bahru, Malaysia4th620417202012 Johor Bahru, Malaysia63211382013 Johor Bahru, Malaysia65102172014 Johor Bahru, Malaysia65012082015 Johor Bahru, Malaysia641116102017 Johor Bahru, Malaysia64023592018 Johor Bahru, Malaysia640219122019 Johor Bahru, Malaysia631224142022 Johor Bahru, Malaysia623125192023 Johor Bahru, Malaysia522118152024 Johor Bahru, Malaysia632119172025 Johor Bahru, Malaysia63121514 Total 3 Titles 71 40 13 18 242 153

Honours

Major tournaments

Junior World Cup: Champions: 2001, 2016 Runner-up: 1997 Third Place: 2025 Junior Asia Cup: Champions: 2004, 2008, 2015, 2023, 2024, 2026 Runner-up: 1996, 2000 Third Place: 1988, 2012

Other tournaments

Sultan of Johor Cup: Champions: 2013, 2014, 2022 Runner-up: 2012, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2025 Third Place: 2017, 2023, 2024

Current squad The following Indian junior men's team named for the 2026 Junior Asia Cup, that held at Moqi, China from 4 to 13 September 2026

Head coach: Fred Soyez

Players, caps and goals updated as of 13 September 2026.

Coaching staff

PositionNameHead Coach Fred SoyezTeam Manager Janardhana Chowdlu BabuStrength and Conditioning Coach Yashwin ShettyVideo Analyst Ashok Kumar ChinnasamyHead Physiotherapist Sarath Lal PVMasseuse Ugin Antony

Results and fixtures The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2026

All times are in IST (UTC+5:30).

Head-to-head record

Won more matches than lostAll matches drawnWon equal matches to lostLost more matches than won

Overall record

Record last updated as of the following match:

India vs at Moqi Training Base, Moqi in the 2026 Junior Asia Cup, 13 September 2026

OpponentGPWDLWin %Last meeting862075%202519541026.32%2025540180%2004751171.43%20256600100%20233300100%20256600100%20153300100%20261100100%19971100100%20056600100%2023420250%20211561840%20251333723.08%20251100100%19811100100%20261100100%19791100100%200014121185.71%20261100100%19821100100%198824182475.00%20261160554.55%20231283166.67%20253300100%20251898150%20254400100%20211100100%20015500100%2009210150%202221123657.14%20261361646.15%20232200100%20121100100%20253300100%20241100100%20001100100%1985

Sources:

India Pakistan rivalry

India lead the head-to-head record against Pakistan, with 9 wins from 18 matches, compared with Pakistan's 1 wins and 8 draws.

The following table shows vs in major tournaments :

Tournament Year Venue Winning team, result Junior World Cup 2013 New DelhiDraw 1–1, won (p.s.o) 4–2 Junior World Cup Asian Qualifiers 1988 New Delhi, 2–1Men's Hockey Junior Asia Cup 1996 SingaporeDraw 2–2, won (p.s) 5–4 2004 Karachi, 5–2 2008 Hyderabad, 3–1 2012 MalaccaDraw 2–2 2015 Kuantan, 6–22023 SalalahDraw 1–1, 2–1 2024 Muscat, 5–3Sultan of Johor Cup 2011 Johor Bahru, 5–1 2012Draw 0–0 2013, 4–0 2014, 6–0 2015, 5–12023Draw 3–3Draw 3–3, won (p.s.o) 6–5 2025Draw 3–3

Notes

See also

Field hockey in India India national para hockey team

References