India Start Favourites vs South Korea In Men's Junior Hockey WC Opener

Vishnukanth Singh was a bundle of nerves before stepping on to Rourkela’s Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium. And you can understand why.

Just 19, Singh was about to play against the likes of Australian legends Eddie Ockenden and Aran Zalewski – both veterans boasting a combined 600+ international appearances.

Though he had made his debut for the Indian men’s national team a year ago at the 2022 Asia Cup Cup Cup, it was a second string team at best, featuring none of the players who had won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. For all sense and purposes, he was about to face his biggest challenge in his nascent career.