India is placed in tough Pool C along with Belgium, Canada, and Germany in the 16 -nation Junior Women’s Hockey World Cup slated to be held from 29 November to 10 December in Santiago, Chile.

India will open their campaign against Canada on 29th November before taking on Germany on 1st December. In their third and last Pool game, they will face Belgium on 2nd December.

The FIH also announced the new Junior Women’s World Rankings as per which India are ranked sixth, while the Netherlands are ranked first and the United States are ranked second. Argentina, Germany, England and the United States third, fourth and fifth respectively. India is also the top ranked team in the Continental rankings.

Having won the Junior Asia Cup in Japan recently, India will enter the Jr World Cup high on confidence and aim to clinch the elusive trophy for the first time in the history of the tournament.

India came close to winning the bronze medal in the last edition of the Cup but couldn’t as they lost to England 2(0)-2(3) in the 3/4th place match.

Talking about the groupings and draw, team captain Preeti said, “We are thrilled to see the Pools for the World Cup unveiled. It’s an exciting moment for our team as we gear up to compete against some of the best junior teams from around the world.”

“We are aware that each Pool is filled with talented and formidable opponents, but we see this as an opportunity to showcase our skills, determination, and teamwork on the global stage. We are confident in our abilities and will give our all in every match,” she added.

Chief Coach of the Women’s Team, Janneke Schopman, said, “The squad is blooming with confidence after winning the Asia Cup. But the World Cup will be much more challenging as we’ll face strong teams from around the world. Every match in the tournament will test our skills, teamwork, and resilience. The Pool draw reinforces the need for us to raise our game and push our limits to achieve success.”

“However, we believe in the potential of our team and its ability to rise to the occasion. Our goal is to create a cohesive unit that performs with a never-give-up attitude, and stays true to our game plan while adapting to the challenges posed by each opponent. We will leave no stone unturned in our preparations to ensure we are well-prepared for the tournament,” she said.

About the newly announced rankings, Schopman said, “Being ranked among the top teams in the rankings is a great honour. It shows that our team has what it takes to compete at the highest level. This ranking motivates us to keep pushing forward and strive for even greater success.”

“Yes, the team is very excited,” coach Harvinder Singh said, “despite the historic victory in Japan. The team is aware that there are a few areas where we need to improve, and we have identified those areas and are currently working on them as we prepare for the World Cup in Chile.”

As per the tournament format, each team in the Pool stage will play the other three teams in their 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.

Defending Champions Netherlands are the most successful team in the Junior Women’s Hockey World Cup, having won the title four times, followed by South Korea and Argentina, who have clinched the trophy twice each. Germany has won the tournament once.