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The pools for the FIH Women's Junior Hockey World Cup 2023 were announced on Thursday.
India are placed in the Pool C alongside Germany, Belgium and Canada. Germany are the most successful team in Pool C. They won the World Championship title in 1989 and finished second twice (2005, 2022). They also had a third-place finish in 1993.
Notably, Germany are ranked fourth, and Belgium are ranked fifth in the World rankings. India are placed at eighth, while Canada are the lowest-ranked team in the group at 15th.
The defending champions Netherlands, who won the title for the fourth time in the last edition, are placed in Pool A with South Africa, Australia and Chile.
Argentina headlines Pool B. The two-time champions are placed alongside Korea, Spain and Zimbabwe. Pool D will see England, the United States, New Zealand and Spain.
The 16-member tournament is all set to take place in Santiago from November 29 to December 10. The schedule and fixtures for the tournament will be announced soon.
India at FIH Women's Junior Hockey World Cup
The 2023 Hockey Junior World Cup will be India's seventh appearance in the World Cup. India made it to the World Cup for the first time in 2001, where they ended in the ninth position. In the next two years, India qualified for the World Cup but had a poor run, finishing 11th and 9th respectively.
India's best finish in the World Cup came in the 2013 edition, where they finished third. The team did not make it to the 2016 edition and finished fourth in the 2022 edition.
Notably, this will be the 11th appearance for the Netherlands, South Korea, Germany, England and Argentina. They are all the favorites to win the title.
India will be confident of a better run in this edition as they enter the Junior World Cup after making history in the Asia Games. The team clinched their maiden title by defeating Korea by 2-1 in the final.
