India secured a commanding 5-0 victory against Switzerland, booking their place in the quarterfinals of the FIH Hockey World Cup for Junior Men. Manmeet Singh struck twice in the 2nd and 11th minutes, and Sharda Nand Tiwari added a penalty-corner goal to put India ahead 3-0 in the opening quarter.

The pool stage of the tournament, featuring both lopsided wins and closely contested matches, concluded with eight teams moving forward to the knockout rounds. The six group toppers—Germany, India, Argentina, Spain, the Netherlands, and France—along with the two best second-place teams, New Zealand and Belgium, advanced to the quarterfinals scheduled for December 5.

India’s 5-0 triumph over Switzerland marked their third consecutive win in the pool stage, allowing them to finish at the top of Pool B. Switzerland suffered their first loss but finished second with six points, while Chile took third with three points and Oman ended fourth.

After a slower second quarter, India added a fourth goal in the 28th minute through Arshdeep Singh. Tiwari secured a second goal from a penalty corner in the 54th minute, earning the Player of the Match award.

India coach PR Sreejesh praised the team but emphasized the need for improvement ahead of the knockout stage. “We are satisfied with the performance, but there are still areas to refine. The real challenge begins in the quarterfinals, and we must focus on those aspects,” he said.

The quarterfinal matchups are set as Spain vs New Zealand, France vs Germany, Netherlands vs Argentina, and India vs Belgium. Earlier, Spain concluded their pool matches with an impressive 13-0 win over Namibia in Madurai, remaining unbeaten in the tournament.