New Delhi, Jun 23 (PTI) India will open their campaign against Canada in the FIH Junior Women’s Hockey World Cup, scheduled to be held in Chilean capital Santiago from November 29 to December 10.

The Indian team has been grouped in Pool C along with Belgium, Canada, and Germany.

India will open their campaign against Canada on November 29 before taking on Germany on Belgium on December 1 and 2 respectively, as per the pools and schedule announced on Thursday night.

To add to the excitement ahead of the marquee event, FIH also revealed the new junior women’s world rankings as per which India are ranked sixth, while the Netherlands are ranked first.

Meanwhile, Argentina, Germany, England and the United States are ranked second, third, fourth and fifth respectively.

Having won the women’s junior Asia Cup in Japan earlier this month, the India team will enter the World Cup high on confidence and will aim to clinch the elusive trophy for the first time in the history of the tournament.

India came close to winning the bronze medal in the last edition of the World Cup but couldn’t as they lost to England 2(0)-2(3) in the 3/4th place match.

“We are aware that each Pool is filled with talented and formidable opponents, but we see this as an opportunity to showcase our skills, determination, and teamwork on the global stage. We are confident in our abilities and will give our all in every match,” India skipper Preeti said.

Women’s chief coach Janneke Schopman, said, “The team is blooming with confidence after winning the Asia Cup. But the World Cup will be much more challenging as we’ll face strong teams from around the world. Every match in the tournament will test our skills, teamwork, and resilience.

“The Pool draw reinforces the need for us to raise our game and push our limits to achieve success.

“However, we believe in the potential of our team and its ability to rise to the occasion. Our goal is to create a cohesive unit that performs with a never-give-up attitude, and stays true to our game plan while adapting to the challenges posed by each opponent. We will leave no stone unturned in our preparations to ensure we are well-prepared for the tournament,” she added.

Junior women’s team’s head coach Harvinder Singh said that the side will have to work on some areas before competing with the top teams.

“Yes, the team is very excited but despite the historic victory in Japan, the team is aware that there are a few areas where we need to improve, and we have identified those areas and are currently working on them as we prepare for the prestigious Junior Women’s World Cup in Chile.” As per the tournament format, each team in the pool stage will play the other three teams in their pool once and the top two teams from each pool will progress to the quarterfinals, while the remaining teams will play for classification positions.

Pools ==== Pool A: Australia, Chile, Netherlands, South Africa.

Pool B: Argentina, Korea, Spain, Zimbabwe.

Pool C: Belgium, Canada, Germany, India.

Pool D: England, Japan, New Zealand, United States.

Source: PTI News