Junior Hockey World Cup: India to Host, Set to Clash with Pakistan in Pool B

India is gearing up to host the FIH Hockey Men's Junior World Cup from November 28 to December 10. The tournament will be held in Chennai and Madurai. As hosts, India finds itself in Pool B alongside rivals Pakistan, Chile, and Switzerland.

An action shot of a hockey game, representing the upcoming Junior Men's Hockey World Cup.

The official draw ceremony, a significant event, took place at the FIH headquarters. This year marks a historic moment as the tournament expands to include 24 teams for the first time.

The composition of the other pools is as follows:

• Pool A: Germany, South Africa, Canada, and Ireland
• Pool C: Argentina, New Zealand, Japan, and China
• Pool D: Spain, Belgium, Egypt, and Namibia
• Pool E: Netherlands, Malaysia, England, and Austria
• Pool F: France, Australia, Korea, and Bangladesh

Key figures attended the draw ceremony, including FIH President Tayyab Ikram, Hockey India (HI) Secretary General Bhola Nath Singh, and Hockey India Director General RK Srivastava.

FIH President Ikram emphasized the importance of the tournament in his statement: "It is a great pleasure for me to be here ahead of a milestone moment as we start the journey towards the first ever 24-team FIH Junior Hockey World Cup! It is a part of the FIH strategy to empower and engage the youth from all nations, including the emerging nations, and this event will be the first step towards doing that."

Bhola Nath added, highlighting the opportunities the World Cup brings: "This World Cup also brings with it the opportunity to enhance our hockey infrastructure, and in the city of Madurai, introduce a new state-of-art hockey stadium." He further stated, "Today marks a landmark moment for the world of hockey as we witness the pool draw for the inaugural FIH Junior Men's Hockey World Cup, featuring 24 nations."

Germany enters the competition as the defending champions, having secured their seventh title by defeating France 2-1 in the 2023 final.