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Hockey World Cup
Seven-time champions Germany had to dig deep to keep their hopes of title defence alive as they progressed into the semifinals of the FIH Men's Junior World Cup, edging out a gutsy France 3-1 in shoot-out after both the teams were locked 2-2 at the end of regulation time here on Friday. In the 2023 edition, seven-time champions Germany eked out a narrow 2-1 win over France in the final to claim the title. In the shoot-out, Jonas von Gersum, Justus Warweg and Lukas Kossel, who scored from a penalty stroke, were the goal getters for Germany, while France's lone strike in the shoot-out came from Aristide Michaelis. All credit goes to German goalie Jasper Ditzer, who produced a superlative show, not just in the shoot-out but all throughout the enthralling contest. On Friday, it turned out to be a hard-fought contest between the two sides but France had better share of circle penetrations and chances. France had the first real scoring chance in the form a penalty corner in the 13th min
Rutaja Pisal scored four goals while Deepika Soreng struck thrice as India hammered New Zealand 11-1 to enter the semifinals of the FIH Women's Hockey5s World Cup here. New Zealand took the lead courtesy a goal from Oriwa Hepi (2nd minute) but India equalized within fifteen seconds as Deepika Soreng (2nd) found the back of the net with an astonishing finish. Rutaja (9th) put India in the lead before Mumtaz Khan (10th, 11th) quickly fired back-to-back goals. The goalfest continued with India again scoring two more quick goals, this time from Mariana Kujur (13th, 14th) as the first half ended with India leading 6-1. India's control of proceedings continued and Rutaja (22nf) scored her second goal of the match. Deepika (25th) also brought up her second goal before Rutaja (26th, 28th) added two more goals to her tally. Deepika (29th) then scored another goal to complete her hat-trick as India won the game 11-1. India face South Africa in the semifinal.
Mohith Shashikumar was an impenetrable presence under the bar when India recently clinched the Junior Asia Cup hockey title and now the young custodian has set his sights on achieving greater glory during the Junior World Cup scheduled in Malaysia in December, this year. India beat Pakistan 2-1 in the final in Oman's Salalah and the Karnataka man made quite a few stunning saves against arch-rivals during the business end of the summit clash. "It is a great feeling to win the Asia Cup and we are now officially the best team in Asia and it is a proud feeling. I am sure the world will sit up and take notice of us now," Mohith, who was adjudged the Best Goalkeeper in the Junior Asia Cup, told PTI. "This is a confidence booster ahead of the (Junior) World Cup and we now want to play against European teams to expand our experience base," he added. The Karnataka lad said getting an early qualification for the Junior World Cup will give Team India an advantage in terms of strategising in .