Madurai, Nov 27 (IANS) Ahead of the highly anticipated FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Tamil Nadu 2025, captains from all 24 participating nations gathered for a special photo session with the coveted trophy.

Twelve captains assembled in Madurai at the newly inaugurated Madurai International Hockey Stadium, and another twelve in Chennai at the historic Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium, making this a memorable event.

In Chennai, at the iconic Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium, 12 captains namely Tomas Ruiz of Argentina, Toby Mallon of Australia, MM Mehrab Hasan Samin of Bangladesh, Felipe Richard of Chile, Liu Chao of China, Gaspard Denis of France, Indian skipper Rohit, Yamato Kawahara of Japan, Seunghan Son of Korea, Gus Nelson of New Zealand, Maitham Al Wahaibi of Oman, and Jens Fluck of Switzerland, posed with the trophy.

Meanwhile, captains of the other 12 nations, Germany’s Ben Hasbach, South Africa’s Dan Neuhoff, Grant Simpson of Canada, Louis Rowe of Ireland, Spain skipper Guiu Corominas, Basel Abdelmonem of Egypt, Lucas Balthazar of Belgium, John-Paul Britz of Namibia, Casper van der Veen of the Netherlands, England’s Max Anderson, Muhammad Danish Aiman Khairul Anuar of Malaysia, and Mateusz Nyckowiak of Austria, gathered in Madurai for the photoshoot at the newly inaugurated Madurai International Hockey Stadium.

The tournament begins on November 28, with India hosting their first Pool B match against Chile in Chennai, while defending champions Germany will start their campaign against South Africa in Pool A at the Madurai International Hockey Stadium.

The grand final is set for December 10th at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium in Chennai. Notably, this is the first time 24 nations are participating in the event.

Hockey India also announced that entry to all tournament matches would be free, a move aimed at increasing fan engagement.

–IANS

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