Most of them have already won medals at other age-group events including the junior Asia Cup (2023) and last year's Sultan of Johor Cup.

CHENNAI: KOBE Bryant. Lionel Messi. Ben Stokes. And, of course, Harmanpreet Singh. These are just some of the sporting superstars members of India's junior hockey team look up to. The 18-member team, who beat South Korea 4-2 in the first match at Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, do have the capacity to go a long way. Most of them have already won medals at other age-group events including the junior Asia Cup (2023) and last year's Sultan of Johor Cup. A few of the players also have the experience of playing for the seniors while the likes of Uttam Singh have already represented the country in the 2021 junior World Cup.   Before the start of the World Cup, Uttam, skipper, had said: "... wait is finally over for the World Cup, and we are very much confident of a good start. We recently played against Korea, so we are aware of the challenge, but the focus will be on us, on executing our plans, and playing good hockey.” On Tuesday, Araijeet Singh Hundal, the forward who was part of the team during the 2021 event, dazzled with a hat-trick. He does have pace to burn and is an instinctive finisher. It's also not a surprise to see why Hockey India rates the Amritsar boy highly. Amandeep scored the other goal. India disappointed at the home World Cup in 2021 with a fourth-place finish. They are determined to at least be on the podium this time around. But they want to take it on a match by match basis. "As always, our focus has been to go match-by-match, and our priority is to get a winning start and then focus on the following matches to proceed to the next stage of the tournament," Uttam said. While Uttam's struggles have been well-documented, other members, too, have gone through similar hardships. For example, take the case of defender Amir Ali. His father, a bike mechanic, had to take a loan from an acquaintance to keep his son's dream alive.   What, though, can't be doubted is their single-minded quest to excel in this sport. Custodian Mohith HS, whose way of drawing inspiration is in watching Ben Stokes' match-winning Test knocks, skipped conventional education. "He skipped conventional education and college to devote more time to his practice," is how the Hockey India Media Kit describes his work ethic. "His hard work and dedication paid off when he played a crucial role in India's victory at the Junior Asia Cup." Take Vishnukant Singh, somebody who has won the senior jersey seven times. He looks up to Harmanpreet and has already had to jump past obstacles. "Representing India was once an unimaginable dream, and now it's my reality," he had said after making the World Cup squad. "The team is in a very good place, and we are looking forward to the challenge ahead of us." It's something that has been notable with this team. They are not too keen to get ahead of themselves. "The players have worked hard, and are fully prepared for the tournament," coach CR Kumar had said. "We have to respect every opponent, it is a bigger stage, so we will have to be cautious and back our strengths to get a good start in the tournament." While the 4-2 win over South Korea will put them in good stead, they have far bigger tests. In their own group, Spain lie in wait. Canada are the fourth team. They may run into one of Belgium or Netherlands in the quarterfinals depending on where they finish in Group C. If all goes well, this Class of 2023 can match the ones from 2016. Fixtures December 7 — Spain December 9 — Canada