Hosts India were on Saturday clubbed alongside arch-rivals Pakistan, Chile and Switzerland in Pool B of the expanded FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup to be co-hosted by Chennai and Madurai from November 28 till December 10 this year.
The draw ceremony for the tournament was held at the FIH headquarters at Lausanne, Switzerland, and this edition will feature 24 teams for the very first time. Pool A consists of Germany, South Africa, Canada and Ireland while Pool C will feature Argentina, New Zealand, Japan and China.
Spain, Belgium, Egypt and Namibia are in Pool D, while Netherlands, Malaysia, England and Austria are in Pool E.
Pool F will feature France, Australia, Korea and Bangladesh.
International Hockey Federation president Tayyab Ikram participated in the draw ceremony along with Hockey India secretary general Bhola Nath Singh, and Hockey India Director General RK Srivastava.
“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,” FIH chief Ikram said in a statement.
“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.” HI secretary general Bhola Nath added: “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 are the current junior Men’s World Champions, having defeated France 2-1 in the final of the 2023 edition, to win a record-extending seventh title.
