With less than 24 hours remaining until the start of the 14th edition of the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup, which will take place in the cities of Chennai and Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India, here are the latest quotes from the participating teams:
Lucas Balthazar, Captain, Belgium
“The last two World Cups didn’t go our way and that only fuels our hunger even more. We have a talented group and excellent coaches; everything is here for success. Now it’s about making the chemistry work, finding our rhythm, and turning potential into performance. Beyond results, we want to set the tone with our attitude, to lead by example, on and off the pitch.”
Oriol Torras, Head Coach, Spain
“Our objective for the World Cup is to continue building on the progress we have made in recent years. The European Championship title demonstrated the team’s quality and cohesion, while the bronze medal at the previous World Cup confirmed our consistency at the highest level. We approach this tournament with respect for our opponents and confidence in our preparation, fully committed to competing for the top positions.”
Mateusz Nyckowiak, Captain, Austria
“We are looking forward to the Junior World Cup with great excitement. As a young and ambitious team, we want to play with courage, give our very best on the pitch and show that we’re ready to compete with the best nations in the world. For us, it‘s all about growing together as a team and gaining valuable experience at the highest level.”
Casper van der Veen, Captain, Netherlands
“We are proud to play in orange and strive for maximum results during the Junior World Cup. We want to show unity and go through fire for each other.”
PR Sreejesh, Head Coach, India
“The Junior World Cup is the ultimate test of our preparation, mindset, and teamwork. Our focus is on playing fearless, fast, and disciplined hockey — the kind that reflects the legacy of Indian hockey. These boys have worked hard to earn this opportunity, and we’re confident they’ll make the country proud on the world stage.”
Dan Neuhoff, Captain, South Africa
“Our expectation is to compete, not just make up the numbers. We aim to represent our country with pride and go toe to toe with the best players and teams in the u21 age group.”
Yannick Hug & Jens Flück, Co-Captains, Switzerland
“We’re coming to India with passion, team spirit, and big ambitions. The Junior World Cup is our chance to prove Switzerland’s strength on the world stage and to exceed expectations.”
Gaspard Denis, Captain, France
“Our ambition for the Junior World Cup is to achieve the best possible result. We want to give everything we have, play our hockey the way we know best, and rely on our strong team spirit to go as far as we can.”
Gus Nelson, Captain, New Zealand
“I’m very excited to be heading to India with an epic group of boys and staff. I know that the group has worked hard to give ourselves the chance to do something special and bring home a medal.”
Bahsin Ahmed, Captain, Egypt
“We are so proud to represent our country on the international stage. We will give our best in every game that we play and we hope to see a lot of our fans in India!”
MM Mehrab Hasan Samin, Captain, Bangladesh
“This is our first appearance in a Junior World Cup. We want to play a competitive game. The team will be reaching Chennai earlier to acclimatize with the weather.”
Seunghan Son, Captain, Korea
“Forget what you knew about the Korean team. We have a singular goal—the champion’s title—and we are here to claim it. Underestimate us at your own risk; you’ll be watching us in the end.”
Muhammad Danish Aiman Khairul Anuar, Captain, Malaysia
“Together, we fight with heart, play with pride, and leave everything on the field”
Ben Hasbach, Captain, Germany
“We’re really excited for the World Cup in India. Being the defending champions gives us extra motivation, but we don’t feel any pressure from it. We just want to play our game, show what we’re capable of, and push our limits together as a team.”
Yamato Kawahara, Captain, Japan
“We fight with pride as Japanese, showing our true spirit and character. As long as we’re here, we aim for nothing less than the title — to give courage and inspiration to everyone who watches.”
Felipe Richard, Captain, Chile
“I think that, being a young team, one of our main challenges is adapting to this international rhythm, which is not the same as what we experience at the Pan American tournaments. But every time we step onto the field, we always end up playing good matches, so we are confident.”
Grant Simpson, Captain, Canada
“We are very excited and proud to represent the maple leaf at the Junior World Cup. We expect to compete in every game and challenge ourselves to perform against the best in the world. We’re excited to showcase our passion and ability on the world stage.”
Liu Chao, Captain, China
“We extend our warmest congratulations on the gathering of the world’s elite young talents at the Junior World Cup—may it be a grand celebration of the sport. May our Chinese athletes compete with honor, strive for excellence, and embody the true spirit and sportsmanship of China on the world stage.”
Mohammad Hobais Bait Jandal, Head Coach, Oman
“It’s a proud and historic moment for Oman to make its debut at the FIH Junior World Cup. Our young players are eager to compete, learn, and represent our country with pride and passion. This tournament will be a great platform for their growth and for the future of Omani hockey.”
Tomas Ruiz, Captain, Argentina
Expectations are very high, we are confident and eager to become champions. We have been preparing very well, both physically and technically. We played many friendly matches with teams from the local league and with the senior national team, which gave us more confidence in each other. We are very excited and eager to travel to this World Cup.
Louis Rowe, Captain, Ireland
“We have something to prove at this tournament, and I feel that with this group of players we can definitely showcase it. It’s a young group but we are hungry and excited at the opportunity to represent Ireland at a Junior World Cup and achieve something great together.”
John-Paul Britz, Captain, Namibia
“Making the Junior World Cup is a dream come true for our squad and for young hockey players back home. We’ll give everything on the field to show what Namibian hockey can do”
Toby Mallon, Australia, Captain
“As a group we’ve built some good momentum and confidence from a good performance in Johor, which has given us the belief to know we can go deep into this tournament.”
Max Anderson, England, Captain
“It’s an honour to be heading to the Junior World Cup with this England squad. It’s my first World Cup and it’s the top of the game for us and I am really looking forward to it. We’ve built a great culture and we have some great players amongst us so I think we can really show what we’re capable of out there.”
#RisingStars#MadeForHockey
Source: FIH.hockey
