The Indian men’s junior team will face off against New Zealand in the bronze medal playoff at the Sultan of Johor Cup 2024 in Johor Bahru on Saturday.
India were in contention to play in the gold medal match. But their fate depended on the outcomes of the match between Great Britain and Japan, and Australia and Malaysia after they played out a 3-3 draw against New Zealand in their final pool match.
With Australia pummeling Malaysia 9-3 and Great Britain beating Japan 3-1, India slipped to the third spot on the standings.
India’s chances of playing in the final also suffered a blow when they suffered a crushing 0-4 defeat to Australia in a pool game.
Australia, Great Britain and India eventually accumulated 10 points in the round-robin league phase. With Australia having a superior goal difference of 12, they topped the standings ahead of Great Britain (3) and India (2).
Australia and Great Britain will play in the final, while India will face New Zealand in the bronze medal playoff at 3:30 PM IST.
In the 5-6th place playoff, hosts Malaysia will meet Japan.
In the previous edition, India won a bronze medal, as Germany clinched the gold medal.
India won the tournament thrice along with Great Britain. Australia won it twice while Malaysia became the champions once.