 "Pakistan clubbed alongside hosts India for Men's Junior Hockey World Cup despite recent conflict")
Despite the two nations engaging in a four-day military conflict just last month , India and Pakistan have been grouped together for the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup that will be taking place in Chennai and Madurai later this year. The two arch-rivals are joined by Chile and Switzerland in Pool B in the tournament that takes place in the southern state of Tamil Nadu from 28 November to 10 December.
The draw ceremony for the expanded tournament, which features 24 teams for the first time in its history, took place at the world governing body’s headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland on Saturday.
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.
Following the draw ceremony earlier today, we are glad to reveal the six Pools for the upcoming expanded FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Tamil Nadu 2025, which will feature 24 teams for the very first time!
— International Hockey Federation (@FIH_Hockey) June 28, 2025
Full story 👇@TheHockeyIndia
#JWC2025 #RisingStars
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.
With PTI inputs
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