By Admin 
Australia arrived at the FIH junior men’s hockey World Cup with high hopes and ambitious targets. Instead, it finds itself playing for 9th–16th places — its worst finish in 12 appearances at the event.
Despite a 3-1 win over South Korea at the SDAT–Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium on Tuesday that took its tally to six points in Pool F, the 1997 champion was undone by an inferior goal difference (-1) compared to other second-placed teams across the groups.
South Korea stretched Australia in every quarter, and the heavy downpour made things difficult for both sides, especially during penalty corner routines
Earlier, France, a two-time runner-up, clinched its third straight victory — a gritty 3-2 result over debutant Bangladesh — to top the pool and confirm Australia’s exit.
The manner of France’s victory over Australia the other day, gave the impression that it would rout Bangladesh. But the debutant had other plans, as it fought hard, defended well and attacked really well in patches. Bangladesh’s performance in the competition surprised many, and it deserves all accolades coming its way.
Duncan Jackson of Australia in action against Korea during the FIH junior men’s hockey World Cup at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, Chennai, on Tuesday, December 2, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM
Australia’s head coach Jay Stacy did not hide his disappointment. “It’s obviously not the campaign we wanted. We came here aiming to win the tournament, but things didn’t unfold as expected.
“We have a strong pathways program back home, but we didn’t train together before coming here. Ours was a different squad from the one that won the Sultan of Johor Cup this October. We’re always trying to evolve and give players opportunities,” he said.
Stacy had words of praise for Bangladesh. “They troubled a lot of teams, including us. And their player Amirul Islam is not just a good drag-clicker, but a good defender too.”
Chennai will host the quarterfinals and the 9th-16th place playoffs, while Madurai will organise the 17th-24th place classification rounds. There are no matches on Wednesday at both the venues.
The results: Pool-F: France 3 (Tom Gaillard 6, Gabin Lorrazuri 31, James Liddiard 37) bt Bangladesh 2 (Md. Abdullah 27, Amirul Islam 54); Australia 3 (Duncan Jackson 16, Ian Grobbelaar 34, Daykin Stanger 52) bt South Korea 1 (Seunghan Son 20).