Hockey Men's Junior World Cup: USA, Chile, Malaysia teams arrive in Bhubaneshwar

The USA, Chile and Malaysia's junior hockey teams arrived in Bhubaneshwar for the FIH Hockey Men's Junior World Cup, commencing at Kalinga Stadium on November 24.

The USA are grouped in Pool C, along with Korea, Spain, and the Netherlands while Chile and Malaysia are both placed in Group A along with Belgium and South Africa.

Read: Junior Hockey World Cup: Is this Team India good enough to defend their title?

Chile and Malaysia will meet each other in the first match of the Hockey Men's Junior World Cup on November 24 while the USA will open their campaign on November 25 against Spain.

Hockey teams excited to play in Kalinga Stadium

Placed in a tough group, the USA are in for a tough battle to make it through to the group stages. Head coach Pat Harris said the team is excited to be playing at the iconic Kalinga Stadium. He said:

"We had a 10-day training camp in California. We were preparing as a team, so we are ready to go. The boys are very excited as this is the first time for many that they have been in such an atmosphere. I think to the world, India has a very strong hockey culture with a big hockey stadium. So, I am sure the boys will really enjoy playing in the hockey stadium."

Speaking about the team's preparations, Chile Captain Nicolás Abujatum said their preparations have been top-notch. He said:

"We have been preparing a lot. We were a part of the Pan-American Championship, which was a big part of our process. Afterwards, we continued training for the World Cup with our staff. We are excited to play at Kalinga Stadium, as most of us have not played in such a great stadium."

Meanwhile, the Malaysian team arrived in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday night. Speaking on the prospect of playing at the iconic Kalinga Stadium, Malaysia head coach Wallace Tan stated:

"Our team is very excited to play at Kalinga Stadium as it's a very big and respected stadium. Many big tournaments have been held here, and many legends have played here, so it will be an honor to play here."