New Delhi: Hero Motocorp Ltd., the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturers, has on Tuesday announced its association with the Hockey Junior World Cup by being named as the title sponsors of the tournament. The Hero Hockey Junior World Cup will see sixteen of the finest junior (under 21yrs) international teams in the world fight it out for the title at the famous Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi from the 6th – 15th of December 2013.
Hero Motocorp Ltd. is an FIH Partner and the Title Sponsor for all FIH events taking place in India up until the end of 2015. The company has had a long and steadfast commitment towards promoting sports in India and has developed strong associations with hockey, cricket and golf.
Pawan Munjal, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Hero MotoCorp said, “It is indeed a privilege to be associated with the Hockey Junior World Cup. This is also in keeping with our long-term commitment to promote Hockey in the country. Nurturing the youth plays a pivotal role towards building world-class teams and we hope our support can help drive the growth of hockey in India and around the world. I wish all the participating teams the very best and look forward to seeing some great performance from these future stars of world hockey.”
“The Junior World Cup is an extremely important event for FIH”, said Kelly Fairweather, CEO, International Hockey Federation. “It puts the spotlight firmly on the future stars of the game, providing some of the finest young talents in the world with the perfect opportunity to make a name for themselves in a world class sporting environment. We are delighted to have Hero Motorcorp as a Global Partner and the Title Sponsor for the Junior World Cup and other upcoming FIH Major Events in India, including the World League Finals in January.
The tournament features four pools, each of which contains four teams ahead of the quarter-finals, semi-finals, classification and medal matches. Pool A will feature Germany, Pakistan, Belgium and Egypt, while Australia, Spain, Argentina and France are competing in Pool B. Netherlands, Korea, India and Canada will challenge each other in Pool C with England, New Zealand, South Africa and Malaysia going head to head in Pool D.
The Indian team led by the talented Manpreet Singh will open its campaign against the Netherlands, a team that will almost certainly be targeting the title. Playing under home conditions, Indian hockey’s young guns will compete against other top contenders like Germany, Australia and Spain. But India should not be overlooked as the favourites to win as the team recently proved its mettle by beating Malaysia to claim the Sultan of Johor Cup 2013. It goes without saying that all eyes will be on them to fight for the title of this prestigious under-21 hockey tournament.
Hockey fans across the country can cheer for India and watch the games LIVE on Ten Sports. Coverage starts on December 6th with India playing back-to-back games against the Netherlands on the 6th, and against Canada on December 7th. All India matches start at 8pm IST.
Participating Teams
Pool A – Germany, Australia, Netherlands and England
Pool B – Pakistan, Spain, Korea and New Zealand
Pool C – Belgium, Argentina, India and South Africa
Pool D – Egypt, France, Canada and Malaysia