Hockey: India, Pakistan in the same pool for men's Jr Asia Cup

Archrivals India and Pakistan have been drawn in the same group for the Men's Junior Asia Cup 2023 to be held in Salalah, Oman from May 23-June 1 this year.

India and Pakistan are in Pool A along with Japan, Thailand and Chinese Taipei in the 10-team competition and will meet on May 27 in a group clash. Group B comprises South Korea, Malaysia, hosts Oman, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan, the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) has announced.

Teams in the preliminary round will play on a round-robin basis in their respective pools with the top two finishers in each group qualifying for the semifinals, which will be played on May 31. The final will be played on June 1.

"The top five teams India, Pakistan, Japan, Korea and Malaysia got an automatic qualification based on their world rankings. Whereas, Bangladesh, Oman, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Chinese Taipei won their qualification from the Men's Junior AHF Cup held in Muscat, Oman in January 2023," the AHF said in a statement.

The top three teams from the tournament, apart from Malaysia, which is already qualified as the host, will make it to the FIH Men's Junior Hockey World Cup 2023, which will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from December 5-16. 2023.

JR WOMEN'S EVENT FROM JUNE 2

Meanwhile, the Women's Junior Asia Cup 2023 will be played at Kakamigahara, Japan from June 2 to 11, 2023.

India are in Pool A along with Korea, Malaysia, Chinese Taipei and Uzbekistan while Group B comprises China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Hong Kong China and Indonesia.

The semifinals will be played on June 10 and the final on June 11.

The top five teams India, China, Korea, Japan and Malaysia got an automatic qualification based on their world rankings; Kazakhstan, Hong Kong China, Chinese Taipei, Uzbekistan and Indonesia won their qualification from the Women's Junior AHF Cup held in Taldykorgan, Kazakhstan in October 2022.

Top three teams from the title tournament will 'ualify to FIH Women's Junior Hockey World Cup 2023.