Year 2001 was remarkable for India with impact making victories achieved in Kuala Lumpur and distant Hobart, Australia and the feat still etched in memory.

Coach Cedric D’Souza’s boys won their first ever Champions Challenge in Kuala Lumpur. And a bit earlier, Indian team led by Gagan Ajit Singh and coached by Rajinder Singh Sr., improved their previous Junior World Cup Silver into Gold.

Incidentally, Argentina was the last hurdle in Kuala Lumpur and Hobart whom the Indians overcame in style.
Indians did not qualify for the previous two Junior World Cups when they made it to the Milton Keynes number in 1997.

Baljit Singh Saini, now on tour of Bangkok with U-18 girls led the side in search of identify for the junior age group Indian national team.

Vasudevan Baskaran was roped in as coach. The team in Milton Keyness created history by reaching the final after defeating Germany in the semis. Final was a grand affair, India just missing out by an odd goal three.

Four years later, Baskaran’s Moscow Olympics colleague Rajinder Singh Sr.’s team allowed only one goal in the final at Hoboart while striking six times.

The Hobart number was played on a new format, Preliminary round followed by Championship round, as the field was increased from earlier 12 to sixteen now.

First two teams of each pool, that is eight teams, made it to the Championship Round. India was in Pool C with Spain, Scotland and Canada whom it beat 3-0, 7-1, and 5-1.

In the Championship round, it drew Argentina 2-2 before overwhelming Netherlands 4-3. India lost to Australia again 1-2 but made it to the semis on account of turns on other pools.

Lucky to be in the semis, India faced Germany there. It could beat them 3-2 to make it to the maiden Jr World Cup final.

The final played on 21st October 15 winters ago turned out to be a game changer for India.

Aided by a hattrick by Deepak Thakur, India set aside the challenge of Argentina 6-1. However, in the next Junior World Cup in a Dutch city, Argentina went on towin the final.

Bulk of the Hobort goldies shortly later graduated to senior side and went on to dominate almost another decade.
Arjun Halappa, Ignace Tirkey, Prabhjot Singh, Raj Pal Singh, Inderjit Singh, Kanwalpreet Singh, Devesh Chauhan, youngest of the lot Prabodh Tirkey, Viren Rasquinha went on to become national heroes.

This writer conducted a survey of sort when the team returned to a grand welcome in the airport and also a party hosted by a Birla Group of companies. I asked the members to name three players whom according to them were the best at Hobart.

One name figured in majority of the victors was Ignace Tirkey, who later on went on to lead India and got both Arjuna and Padamshree awards.

This unanimity led me to declared him as the Hockey Year Book’s Best Younger Player Award.