India, June 9 -- Unlike in his debut season in the Hockey India League this January, where he looked a bit cautious while playing for Shrachi Bengal Tigers, young striker Ketan Kushwaha appeared confident as he led India to the Men's Under-18 Asia Cup trophy in Japan last week.

Kushwaha, 15, scored eight goals, including a hat-trick, whereas Ashish Tani Purti struck 13 goals as India lost only one league match in their journey before outplaying hosts Japan 4-1 in the final.

"We had plans to execute and we planned our strategy for every match. We took one match at a time and didn't bother much about the next match," Kushwaha told HT soon after reaching his home in Jhansi on Tuesday.

Kushwaha credited the 40-day preparatory camp for his ...