Oman named Pakistan's replacement at men's Junior World Cup

Image used for representational purpose

Oman will replace Pakistan in the FIH Men's Junior World after the latter withdrew from the tournament to be held in Chennai and Madurai from November 28 till December 10, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) confirmed on Wednesday.

"After the Pakistan Hockey Federation has notified the International Hockey Federation (FIH) that they have not accepted the invitation to participate in the upcoming FIH Hockey Men's Junior World Cup Tamil Nadu 2025, after their team had qualified for this event at the Asia Junior Cup last year, the Men's Junior team of Oman will now join the list of participating teams for this event that will take place from 28 November to 10 December 2025 in the cities of Chennai and Madurai, India," the FIH said in a statement.

Oman joins as the next highest placed team in the continental championship (Junior Asia Cup 2024), which was the qualifying tournament for the Junior World Cup.

"For the very first time, the FIH Hockey Junior World Cups 2025, women and men, will involve 24 teams each, enabling greater accessibility to FIH events, which is one of the fundamental principles of the FIH Empowerment and Engagement strategy," the FIH statement further read.

Pakistan were placed in Group B alongside India, Chile, and Switzerland. This is the second event in India that Pakistan has pulled out from after the men's Asia Cup in Rajgir, Bihar held from August 29 to September 7 this year.

The Indo-Pak relation has deteriorated since the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and India's subsequent Operation Sindoor.

The Indian government recently announced a new policy under which it will not engage in bilateral sporting contests with Pakistan but will continue to compete against them in multi-nation tournaments.

During the recent Asia Cup, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav had refused to shake hands with his Pakistan counterpart Salman Ali Agha.

Interestingly, the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has expressed its willingness to compete in the tournament at a neutral venue, which was rejected by the FIH.