FIH Hockey Men's Junior World Cup 2025: Happy with progress, Belgium hope to go the distance this time

Belgium finished with a silver in 2016.

With the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2025 heading into the home stretch before the opening match-day, Belgium became the second team to arrive in Madurai, on Saturday.

Popularly known as The Young Red Lions, the Belgian side have arrived in India, aiming to do better than their predecessors two years ago. At the 2023 World Cup in Malaysia, they missed out on qualifying for the quarter-finals, ultimately finishing ninth.

The Young Red Lions’ best finish in the history of the competition was in 2016, when the Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup was played in Lucknow. In that Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup in Lucknow in 2016, Belgium finished with the silver medal as they lost to hosts India in the final.

Placed in Pool D, Belgium has the likes of Egypt, Namibia and Spain for company, and will play all their games in the first phase of the tournament in Madurai.

Belgium opens their campaign against Namibia on 28 November, and play Spain on 30th November, before concluding their group stage fixtures against Egypt on 2nd December.

Also Read: FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2025: Netherlands arrive in Chennai with eyes on maiden trophy

Led by head coach Sean Dancer, the Young Red Lions will not only be looking to improve upon their finish in 2023 but would also be aiming as high as finishing with the gold medal, in a country where they have happy memories.

Among the players to watch out for will be the duo of Hugo Labouchere (7 caps) and Lucas Balthazar (16 caps), both of whom are a key part of the Belgium Men’s Hockey Team.

Speaking on arrival, Belgium’s head coach Sean Dancer said, “I have been to a lot of hockey tournaments before around the world, but I have never had a welcome like this, at the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Tamil Nadu 2025. So, it is amazing being here in Madurai.” 

When asked about the Young Red Lions’ preparations for the upcoming FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2025, the head coach added, “We’ve been working really hard in Belgium in preparation, and we are really happy about our progress so far. And we’re really looking forward to the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Tamil Nadu 2025.”

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