Chennai, June 28 (UNI) Hosts India was grouped along with arch-rivals Pakistan, Chile and

Switzerland in the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2025 to be held here and in Madurai

from November 28 to December 10.

The draw ceremony was held at Lausanne in Switzerland today.

The prestigious tournament will have 24 teams in fray and the they were divided into six groups

of four teams each.

FIH President Tayyab Ikram participated in the draw ceremony along with Mr. Bhola Nath Singh,

Hockey India Secretary General and Cdr. RK Srivastava, Hockey India Director General.

Ahead of the draw ceremony, Tayyab Ikram said: “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."

"I express my gratitude to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin and Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin for welcoming the young stars to the state of Tamil Nadu into the two beautiful cities of Chennai and Madurai. 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 said.

"I would also like to thank the Hon’ble Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sports Minister

of India Mansukh L. Mandaviya for seeing Hockey as a prime sport and supporting it not only in

India, but also across Asia and globally” , he added.

Mr Bhola Nath Singh said: “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. On behalf of Hockey India, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi ji, for his resolute support to hockey and its players across the nation."

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.

Following are the groupings :

Pool A: Germany, South Africa, Canada, Ireland

Pool B: India, Pakistan, Chile, Switzerland

Pool C: Argentina, New Zealand, Japan, China

Pool D: Spain, Belgium, Egypt, Namibia

Pool E: Netherlands, Malaysia, England, Austria

Pool F: France, Australia, Korea, Bangladesh.

UNI GV 1700