Junior Asia Cup Hockey: India to start campaign against Chinese Taipei

India will look to qualify for this year’s Junior World Cup when they begin their title defense campaign against Chinese Taipei in the men’s Junior Asia Cup hockey tournament, here on Wednesday. The top three teams in the Junior Asia Cup will qualify for the Junior World Cup to be held in Malaysia in December this year. India and Pakistan are the two most successful teams in the Junior Asia Cup. Both have won this tournament thrice each. India have been clubbed with Pakistan, Japan, Thailand and Chinese Taipei in Group A while hosts Oman, Korea, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan have been placed in Pool B.

Indian skipper Uttam Singh said playing against the senior Indian team in Bengaluru gave him an opportunity to prepare well for the tournament. “The Junior Asia Cup is a great opportunity for us to prove our potential and implement whatever work we have done during the training sessions,” Uttam said in a Hockey India release on Tuesday. “With the good international experience we have gained over the past few years and having played against the senior team to hone our skills in a recent practice session at the SAI Center in Bengaluru, we can say that we are well placed to defend the title. Ready from.

As per the format of the tournament, the top two teams from each pool will advance to the semi-finals. Both the finalists and the bronze medalist will qualify for the Junior World Cup to be held in Malaysia. However, if Malaysia also makes it to the semi-finals of the Junior Asia Cup, the remaining three teams will qualify for the Junior World Cup. Malaysia has already qualified for the Junior World Cup as the host. India will play other pool matches against Japan on May 25 and Pakistan on May 27. The team will play its last pool match against Thailand on May 28. The final will be played on June 1.

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