The Indian junior men’s hockey team made history on Wednesday, December 10, at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai. The Indian players defeated Argentina 4-2 in the Junior World Cup 2025, securing their first-ever bronze medal and bringing glory to the nation.

The Indian team staged a remarkable comeback to clinch third place in the tournament, scoring four goals in just 11 minutes against a strong Argentinian side after trailing by two goals, adding a golden moment to Indian hockey history.

Goal Scorers

In the match, Argentina’s Nicolas Rodriguez scored in the third minute to give his team the lead, and then Santiago Fernandez doubled the lead in the 44th minute, making it 2-0 for the visiting team. However, India’s Ankit Pal scored in the 49th minute, Manmeet Singh in the 52nd, Shardanand Tiwari in the 57th, and Anmol Ekka in the 58th, securing the victory for India.

India wins bronze medal for the first time

This is the first time India has won a bronze medal, having previously won two gold medals (2001, 2016) and one silver medal (1997). In 2005, the team narrowly missed out on a bronze medal after losing to Spain in a penalty shootout in the third-place playoff.

Millions of rupees in prize money announced
Following this historic victory, Hockey India has also announced a generous reward for the players, declaring a prize of ₹5 lakh for each player and ₹2.5 lakh for the support staff. The Indian team had lost to Germany 5-1 in the semi-finals.