Tamil nadu: The national men’s junior hockey squad suffered their first loss after falling 0-6 to the Netherlands in their second Group E match of the 2025 Junior World Cup in Tamil Nadu, India, today. In the match held at the Madurai International Hockey Stadium, Nor Saiful Zaini’s boys, who defeated Austria 5-1 yesterday, were unable to contain the relentless attacks of the Dutch side who are also two-time runners-up.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the Netherlands went ahead as early as the ninth minute through a field goal by Casper van der Veen, before the same player doubled their lead a minute later. Joppe Wolbert compounded the Young Tigers’ misery further with two goals within a minute, a penalty corner in the 20th minute and a penalty stroke in the 21st minute. Thies Bakker then put the Dutch comfortably ahead at 5-0 with a field goal in the 28th minute, before Tjeerd Boermans completed the team’s emphatic victory in the 42nd minute.

After two matches, the Netherlands lead Group E with six points, while England sits second, sharing three points with Malaysia in third place, and Austria is fourth without any points.