The Men’s Junior Asia Cup 2024 came to an end today with India claiming the gold medal with a 5-3 victory over Pakistan in the final at Muscat, Oman. India, Pakistan, Japan, Malaysia, Bangladesh and China finished in the top 6 positions, with 6 qualification spots available from Asia for the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2025, which for the very first time has been expanded to include 24 teams from around the world! However, India as hosts of the upcoming Junior World Cup had already secured their spot in the event, which meant Thailand, who finished in 7th place at the Junior Asia Cup, also qualified for the next edition of the premier junior hockey event to be played in 2025. Bangladesh, China and Thailand will participate in their first ever FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup!

FIH President Tayyab Ikram said: “Congratulations to all teams, and in particular Bangladesh, China and Thailand – and Switzerland earlier - for qualifying for the first time to an FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup! This confirms how fitting the FIH decision was to increase the number of participating teams from 16 to 24. And matches entirely with one of the main principles of our Empowerment and Engagement strategy that is to facilitate and increase the accessibility of teams/athletes to our events.”

India and Pakistan were the dominant teams in the league stage of the tournament winning all 4 of their matches to finish at the top of Pool A and Pool B respectively. Joining them in the semi-finals were Japan (Pool A) and Malaysia (Pool B) who finished in second place.

Chinese Taipei and Oman finished in the fifth place of their respective pools and were subsequently knocked out of the world cup qualification race.

With India qualifying for the semi-finals, teams classifying in 5th, 6th and 7th places were guaranteed a spot at the upcoming Junior World Cup, making the 5-8 place classification a hugely interesting affair! It was Korea vs China and Bangladesh vs Thailand in the first phase of the 5-8 classification matches. Bangladesh and China came away as winners to move on to the 5-6 place match, confirming their Junior World Cup spots. It was Thailand vs Korea for the final qualification spot through the 7-8 place match and Thailand came away with the victory in the crucial match-up to become the final team to qualify for the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup India 2025.

The first semi-final pitted Pakistan against Japan. While the score was 1-all at half-time, the young Pakistanis would break away irretrievably in the second half to finally win (4-2). This victory opened the way for them to the final against India, winner of the second semi-final at the expense of Malaysia (3-1). This great "classic" between two superpowers of Asian – and world – hockey turned to the advantage of India at the end of a thrilling and long indecisive final. As for the bronze medal, it went to Japan, who defeated Malaysia (2-1) after scoring their two goals in the first quarter.

"Qualifying for the JWC is a dream came true. A big step for Thailand hockey participating with the players average age 17++ , with the long term vision and mission to secure regular participation at tier 1 tournament." - Beng hai tai, Coach, Thailand

“Our main target for the Junior Asia Cup was to qualify for the Junior World Cup, and I’m thrilled that we not only achieved that but also secured the silver medal. Despite limited preparation time, the team played exceptionally well throughout the tournament.

Hockey Oman organized the event magnificently, providing excellent facilities, and I’m confident it will become a hub for world hockey in the future.

The Junior World Cup will be challenging, with 24 teams and a strong European presence, but we are determined to work hard and achieve the best possible results.”

– Kamran Ashraf, Coach, Pakistan Junior Hockey Team

FIH Junior Hockey Men’s World Cup 2025

The FIH Junior Hockey Men’s World Cup 2025 will be played in India, with an expanded competition format that will feature 24 teams for the very first time! India have qualified as the hosts of the competition. Belgium, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Austria and Switzerland have qualified from Europe. Argentina, Canada and Chile have qualified from the Americas. Pakistan, Japan, Malaysia, Bangladesh, China and Thailand have now qualified from Asia. Additionally, three more teams from Oceania and Africa (each) will qualify for the World Cup to c omplete the qualification process over the next few months.

All information about the FIH Hockey Junior World Cups is available here.

The world rankings for Junior teams are available here.

For more information about FIH and hockey in general, please follow the FIH social media channels - Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and website.

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