Which are the countries to have won Men's Junior Hockey World Cup?

These teams performed brilliantly in the tournament.

The FIH Men's Junior Hockey World Cup will commence from the 24th of November. It will the 12th edition of the tournament and will be hosted by defending champions India. The Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar will serve as its venue.

The tournament which will be contested by 16 teams has already been divided into four groups. India are in Group B and will start their campaign against France on the opening day. The other teams in the groups are Canada and Poland. Naturally, the Indians are favourites to go through, being the best ranked of the lot.

Moreover, as the defending champions, the expectations from them are also high. India are making a strong case for consecutive title wins. On that note, we are going to dig up the history of the Men's Junior Hockey World Cup and find out a little bit about the past champions who have won this prestigious tournament:

5. Pakistan (1979)

Five countries have been crowned the Men's Junior Hockey World Cup winners so far. But, the first one to do so were none other than Pakistan, that too by defeating a powerful nation like West Germany. The 1979 final saw Pakistan edging past the Germans with a 2-0 victory in Versailles, France.

The Pakistanis had been on fire in the tournament, picking up wins over Argentina, Ireland, Singapore, Ghana among others. They met Malaysia in the semis and beat them 4-2, before completing the campaign with a victory over West Germany. As a result, they were awarded the Roger Danet Challenge Cup ( in memory of France's former federation President).

4. Australia (1997)

Australia won their first and only Men's Junior Hockey World Cup title in 1997 by defeating India in the final. The match, which was equally contested between the two, had a lot of back and forth action. But, in the end, Lady Luck shone brightly for the Aussies.

The National Hockey Stadium in Milton Keynes saw Australia celebrating their first Junior World Cup victory. Goals from Ben Taylor 29,' Troy Elder 33' and Matthew Elder 42' ended India's hopes. However, there was small comfort for the Indians, as Rajiv Mishra was named the "Best Player of the Tournament." Along with that, he was also the top scorer with nine goals.

3. Argentina (2005)

A strong hockey playing nation from the South American continent, Argentina finally got their hands on the coveted title in 2005. Moreover, by defeating a tough foe in Australia. The Argentines remained unbeaten for the entirety of the tournament.

They were pitted against Australia in the final. It was the Aussies who laid the first blow. A goal from tournament top scorer Colin Hennessy troubled the scorers in the 34th minute. But, despite that, Argentina pulled through. A goal from Player of the Tournament Lucas Villa 40' equalized the score. Another from Pedro Villa (70') established the lead and took Australia out of the game.

Despite their best efforts to penetrate their opponent's defence in the later stages, Australia could not do so. Finally, the match ended with a 2-1 scoreline, crowning the first South American champions.

2. India ( 2001, 2016)

India are the only nation apart from Germany to have won the Men's Junior Hockey World Cup title more than once. Runners-up in the 1997 edition, India came back strong to win the title in 2001. The Indian team completely dismantled their opponents Argentina in the final, with Deepak Thakur scoring a hat-trick 53', 56' and 59' in a span of six minutes. The final result was a 6-1 mauling for the South Americans.

India did the double 15 years later on their home turf. The event hosted in Lucknow saw the Indian squad beating a top team like Belgium 2-1, with Gurjant Singh 8' and Simranjeet Singh 22' scoring for the hosts. Belgium did try to make a comeback with a goal from Fabrice van Bockrijck. But, in the end, it wasn't enough.

1. Germany ( 1982,1985,1989,1993, 2009, 2013)

Germany are the most decorated champions in the history of the Men's Junior Hockey World Cup. The nation has won the tournament a record six times, winning it four times consecutively in 1982, 1985,1989 and 1993. Though the first three times they won as West Germany, but it was a German victory nonetheless.

Their fourth title victory came against Pakistan in 1993 in Terrassa, Spain. Culminating in a sweet revenge of their 1979 final loss, Germany won the final match 3-1. Their following two victories again came consecutively in 2009 and 2013 against tough foes in the Netherlands and France.

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