Junior World Cup to be held from November 25

KARACHI: The Men’s Junior World CUP 2021 will be held in Bhubaneswar from November 24 to December 5.

Pakistan have qualified for the event, Pakistan hockey sources informed ‘The News’ on Satruday.

According to the sources, Australia and New Zealand have announced that they will not participate in the Junior World Cup due to Covid-related international travel restrictions. They will be replaced by the USA and Canada.

Pakistan qualified because the Junior Asia Cup was cancelled because of Covid.

The teams in the event are India, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, South Africa, Egypt, Belgium, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, USA, Canada, Chile and Argentina.

“The FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Bhubaneswar 2021 is the pinnacle of tournaments for U-21 and is a very important fixture in the FIH calendar,” said Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra, President, FIH. “We are delighted that Odisha with their world-class infrastructure are set to host an event of this magnitude. As always, we have been extended full support by the Odisha State Government and the event will be held following all required Covid-19 protocols,” he added.

It may be recalled here that Pakistan did not participate in the 2016 Junior World Cup in India as the host country did not handle the travelling issues of Pakistan team properly.