Pakistan confirm participation in Junior Men’s Hockey World Cup in India

Pakistan will take part in the upcoming FIH Junior Men’s Hockey World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in Tamil Nadu, India later this year. The news was confirmed by Hockey India Secretary General Bholanath Singh, ending weeks of speculation about whether the team would join the tournament.

“Pakistan will participate in the junior men’s hockey World Cup,” Singh said during a media event on Saturday, August 30, confirming the team’s involvement.

Earlier, Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) Secretary General Rana Mujahid had said that they were awaiting government approval to confirm their participation in the tournament. He said that a formal request has been submitted to the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) seeking approval to send national teams to India for the Men’s Asia Cup and Junior World Cup

“The PSB has forwarded the official query to the concerned ministries, and they are yet to respond,” he was quoted as saying by PTI.

Tensions between India and Pakistan were very high in May after both countries had a conflict. India carried out Operation Sindoor in response to terrorists who had killed innocent tourists in Jammu & Kashmir in April. Pakistan reacted with its own military actions, even though India said it only targeted terrorist camps. This raised doubts about whether Pakistan would take part in these events.

However, the Indian sports ministry has made its stance clear, saying that they have no problem with Pakistan coming to India for multi-nation sporting events because of the Olympic Charter, but have refused to allow any bilateral events between the two neighbours.

The 2025 Men’s FIH Hockey Junior World Cup will be the 14th edition of the tournament. It will be held from November 28 to December 10, 2025 at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium in Chennai and in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. The tournament will feature 24 teams for the first time.

India, Pakistan in same pool

A draw was held in Lausanne, Switzerland on June 28 to determine the pool for the mega event. India and Pakistan are placed in the same pool alongside Chile and Switzerland. A total of six pools have been formed, consisting of four teams each.

 **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