Two-time champions India have been drawn along with Canada, South Korea and Spain in Pool C for the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2023, the organising committee announced at a ceremony on Friday.

The Junior World Cup is scheduled to be held between Decmeber 5 and 16 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

India, who won the Men’s Junior Asia Cup earlier this month in Oman, will start their World Cup campaign against Korea on December 5. They will then face Spain on December 7 and end their group stage matches against Canada on December 9.

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Each team in the group stage will play the other three teams in their respective Pool once and the top two teams from each Pool will progress to the quarter-finals, while the remaining teams will play for classification positions.

The Indian team won the tournament in 2001 in Hobart, and in Lucknow in 2016. They also won silver in 1997, losing 3-2 to Australia in the final in Milton Keynes, England.

Germany is the most successful team in the tournament’s history, having won the title six times. They are followed by defending champions Argentina and India, who have won the trophy two times each., while Australia (1997) and Pakistan (1979) have each won the tournament once.

Indian men’s junior hockey coach CR Kumar said, “We have five players from the last World Cup and they play a lead role in our team and others are gaining experience by working along with them. We are lucky to have a couple of tournaments before the Junior World Cup to gain match experiences against different opponents to enhance our confidence.”

Group stage schedule for Indian men’s junior hockey team

India vs Korea - December 5

India vs Spain - December 7

India vs Canada - December 9

Here are the Pools for the Junior Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023:

Pool A: Argentina, Australia, Chile, Malaysia

Pool B: Egypt, France, Germany, South Africa

Pool C: Canada, India, Korea, Spain

Pool D: Belgium, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan