Oman will replace Pakistan in the upcoming FIH Men’s Junior World Cup hockey tournament in Chennai and Madurai from November 28 to December 10, 2025, following Pakistan’s withdrawal from the event. The International Hockey Federation (FIH) confirmed this development on Wednesday after Pakistan Hockey Federation declined their invitation despite qualifying through the Asia Junior Cup last year.“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 secured their spot as the next highest-placed team from the Junior Asia Cup 2024, which served as the qualifying tournament for the 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 added.Pakistan was originally placed in Group B alongside India, Chile, and Switzerland. This marks their second withdrawal from an Indian event, following their pullout from the men’s Asia Cup in Rajgir, Bihar, held from August 29 to September 7 this year.The deterioration in Indo-Pak relations since the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and India’s subsequent Operation Sindoor has impacted sporting events between the two nations.The Indian government has implemented a new policy that restricts bilateral sporting contests with Pakistan while maintaining participation in multi-nation tournaments.During the recent Asia Cup, tensions were evident when India captain Suryakumar Yadav declined to shake hands with Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha.The Pakistan Hockey Federation expressed willingness to compete at a neutral venue, but the FIH rejected this proposal.
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