Lucknow: Ketan Kushwaha, a 15-year-old striker, led India to the Men's Under-18 Asia Cup trophy in Japan last week, scoring eight goals, including a hat-trick.
India lost only one league match in their journey before outplaying hosts Japan 4-1 in the final.
Kushwaha credited the 40-day preparatory camp for his team's strong performance, saying, 'It was great to see what we trained for actually paid off and helped us win the title.'
He expressed confidence in making it to the senior India side in the future, saying, 'From here, we plan to represent India one day in the Olympics and World Championship. We will try our best now to win gold in the Olympics.'
Kushwaha's leadership was instrumental throughout the tournament, and he is one of the top inmates of the state government-run hockey hostel in Lucknow.
