Jr Men's Hockey WC: Chennai and Madurai named as co-hosts

Started in 1979, the two-week hockey extravaganza, for the first time in its history, will see 24 teams participating for the coveted title.

This will be the third FIH Junior Men's World Cup to be held in India with the previous editions of the prestigious event being played in Bhubaneswar, Odisha in 2021 and Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh in 2016 which was won by India.

Speaking about the event, Hockey India president, Dr Dilip Tirkey said, "It is a matter of great pride for Hockey India to host the forthcoming FIH Junior Men's Hockey World Cup and I express our gratitude to the Chief Minister, Government of Tamil Nadu, MK Stalin and Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin who have extended unparalleled support to successfully host the event.

"With 24 teams playing the Junior World Cup this time, we will have the event in two cities - Chennai and Madurai. While Chennai has hosted the Asian Champions Trophy in 2023, Madurai will be hosting an international event of this magnitude for the first time and we are happy to take hockey to different parts of the country," said Dilip Tirkey.

Reflecting his views on Hockey India's hosting capabilities, Bhola Nath Singh, secretary general, said, "Our Federation has been at the forefront of hosting global events and once again, we look forward to leaving no stone unturned in ensuring the FIH Junior Men's Hockey World Cup is a mega success.

"It is our endeavour to take hockey to different venues across India and promote the game. It is with this vision that we chose Chennai and Madurai as the venues and this was possible only because of the support we have of the Tamil Nadu State Government and the leadership of our (Hockey India) Treasurer Sekar Manoharan," he added.

Expressing his excitement to bring back hockey's glory days to Tamil Nadu, Sekar Manoharan, Hockey India treasurer and president of Hockey Tamil Nadu, said, "I am grateful to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu MK Stalin and Sports Minister Thiru Udhayanidhi Stalin for their passion and support for hockey. We in Tamil Nadu want to bring back the glory days of hockey in the state and Chennai for long was one of the most popular venues for international hockey events. We look forward to welcoming global hockey fans to our great state and enjoy our hospitality."

The matches in Chennai will be played at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Egmore while the games in the Madurai leg will be played at a newly built synthetic turf stadium which is yet to be named.

So far India have won two gold and one silver medals in 14 editions of the FIH Junior Men's Hockey World Cup. The country's first medal came in 1997 at Milton Keynes in England when the team lost 3-2 to Australia in the final and settled for a silver. Four years later in Hobart, Australia, India won the Junior World Cup for the first time. In the last two editions of the event in 2021 and 2023, India finished fourth.