India junior hockey player breaks silence on why the team shook hands with Pakistan: ‘Wasn’t like we were told not to'

bharat and west pakistan’s human relationship reached a young depression in 2025, not just geopolitically but as a result also on the sports field. The animosity that has been brewed between the two rivals nations manifested on the cricket field, where they faced off in three contests in the Asia Cup, each of them hostile after the attacks on Phalgam and India’s response with Operation Sindoor.

A big controversy was the Indian cricketers refusing to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts at the end of these contests, which snowballed into the fiasco with the trophy remaining unpresented by PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi.

The exception was the match between the junior teams from the two countries in the recent Sultan of Johor Cup, an U-21 hockey tournament held in Malaysia annually. The teams from each country faced off, and in fact ended the 3-3 drawn match with the customary high-fives.

With that incident also causing plenty of discussion, members of that Indian team which finished with the silver medal in Malaysia spoke about the handshakes at the end of that match.

In an interview with Times of India, midfielder Roshan Kujur explained: “It wasn’t like we were told not to shake hands. As players, we all play with hard work and dedication, and we didn't see them as enemies or anything like that. That's why we shook hands. They’re players just like us.”

However, Kujur did admit that there was a lot of pressure and expectation to go on and win against Pakistan, or at least to prevent a loss. That element of the rivalry still remained, which is what sparked India’s comeback from down 0-2 to take a 3-2 lead, before Pakistan equalised late.

“First of all, losing to Pakistan is not an option. There’s always pressure in an India–Pakistan game; the name itself brings pressure. But we tried to handle it well and focus on giving our best,” Kujur further explained.

Defender Sunil PB also added on to this by explaining the nature of the draw: “With Pakistan, it’s always about winning. We have to beat them. But in the end, it turned out to be a draw. Still, it was a good match.”

Despite the relative goodwill of that match, Pakistan pulled out of the upcoming Men's Junior Hockey World Cup, which was set to take place on Indian soil in Tamil Nadu. This follows from the senior team's withdrawal from the men's Asia Cup that took place in Bihar earlier this year.

India would finish with the silver medal after losing the final to Australia, but improved on their bronze medal finishes from 2023 and 2024. However, it was this additional chapter to handshakegate which this tournament might be remembered best for.

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