New Delhi, 29th September 2023: With two months to go for the highly-anticipated FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup 2023, preparations are in top gear for the Indian Junior Women’s Hockey Team as they look to lift the coveted trophy. The FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup 2023 will be held in Santiago, Chile, from 29th November to 10th December 2023. A total of 16 teams will be participating in the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup 2023.
~The prestigious tournament is scheduled to be held from 29th November to 10th December 2023~
The Indian Junior Women’s Hockey Team qualified for the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup 2023 after their unbeaten streak in six matches at the Women’s Junior Asia Cup 2023, which was held in Kakamigahara, Japan, in June 2023. The Indian Junior Women’s Hockey Team emerged Champions as they defeated South Korea 2-1 in a thrilling Final. Annu and Neelam scored the goals for India and Park Seo-yeon scored for South Korea. This was the first time the Indian Junior Women’s Hockey Team won the Women’s Junior Asia Cup.
India are placed in Pool C along with Germany, Belgium and Canada. The Netherlands, South Africa, Australia and hosts Chile are in Pool A, while Argentina, Korea, Spain and Zimbabwe are placed in Pool B and Pool D comprises England, the United States, New Zealand and Japan. The Indian Junior Women’s Hockey Team will open their campaign against Canada on 29th November. They will face Germany on 30th November and will lock horns against Belgium on 2nd December.
Talking about the preparations in the lead-up to the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup 2023, Indian Junior Women’s Hockey Team coach Tushar Khandker, said, “The team has been practising rigorously over the past few months. We also have identified areas of improvement and are working on them ahead of the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup 2023. Winning the Women’s Junior Asia Cup 2023 has definitely boosted the morale of the players. Yes, there are some quality teams in the tournament but we cannot take any of them lightly. We will take it match by match and give it all every time we are out there on the field.”
HOCKEY INDIA TEAM PARTNERS
Odisha (India’s Best Kept Secret) – Major Team Partner
Sports Authority of India (SAI)
Shiv Naresh
About HOCKEY INDIA
HOCKEY INDIA (HI) is the governing body with exclusive mandate to direct and conduct all activities for both men and women’s hockey in India. It is recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Govt. of India as the sole body responsible towards promoting Hockey in India.
Headquartered in New Delhi, Hockey India was established on 20th May, 2009 and is affiliated to the International Hockey Federation (FIH), the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and Asian Hockey Federation (AHF).
Committed to the development of Hockey in the country, Hockey India with the assistance of Sports Authority of India and Department of Sports, Government of India, trains players at sub-junior, junior and senior level. The governing body engages in Coaching the coaches with International Standard certification programs, educates and equips technical officials and umpires to find a foothold in international arena, provides world-class infrastructure and International exposure for the players besides regular international competition. Hockey India has also pioneered in bringing top International hockey events to India such as the FIH Men’s World Cup in 2010 and 2018, FIH Champions Trophy in 2014, FIH Junior Men’s World Cup in 2016 and 2021, FIH Hockey World League Final in 2017. With its vision to popularize the game and constantly promote it, Hockey India brought the Indian Men’s Hockey Team into the top three in the world. Hockey India is also dedicated to getting the Indian Women’s Hockey Team into the top three in the world.
About ODISHA
Odisha – the Eastern State of India – is known for its love for Hockey and over the years it has evolved to be the Global Hub of Hockey. The State successfully hosted the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018, followed by the FIH Men’s Series Finals Bhubaneswar Odisha, FIH Olympic Qualifiers Odisha, and FIH Hockey Pro League 2020-21. Odisha has previously hosted the Champions Trophy 2014 and the Odisha Men’s Hockey World League Final Bhubaneswar 2017. Odisha also hosted the FIH Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup in 2021.
Kalinga Lancers, the team owned by the State, were the winners in the Hockey India League 2017. Taking a step further towards realising the dream of restoring the glory of Indian Hockey at the global level, the State is sponsoring the Indian Hockey Teams till 2033.
Odisha also hosted the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023.
