No World Junior Ranking points on offer at the 2023 Sultan of Johor Cup
JOHOR BARU: The 2023 Sultan of Johor Cup will not offer any Junior World Ranking points.
The Junior World Ranking was introduced in June 2023 by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) with the aim of better reflecting the results of this age group (Under 21). The new ranking model is a tournament-based system, like that at the senior level.
But the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has confirmed to the organisers that the ranking points will only be available from the Junior World Cup onwards.
his year the Junior World Cup will be held at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur from Dec 5-16.
Based on the ranking issued by the FIH, Argentina, the reigning Junior Word Champion, is the top-ranked Junior team. They are followed closely by Germany, who will be considered the top seed at this year’s Sultan of Johor Cup.
India, the recent Junior Asian Champions, is in third place followed by European nations, Holland (4), Belgium (5), Spain (6), and France (7) respectively.
Malaysia is ranked in eighth place, just above the Australians. The other Sultan of Johor Cup participating teams in order of ranking are South Africa (10), Pakistan (12), New Zealand (13), Great Britain (15 as England).
The computation of the ranking system was based on the results of the last three FIH Hockey Junior World Cups and the last three Continental Junior Events.
Like the senior ranking system, every major junior event and continental tournament will also count towards the ranking of the teams.
Johor Hockey president and organising chairman Datuk Manjit Majid Abdullah said that it is a pity that ranking points are not offered at this year’s Sultan of Johor Cup although it is already in place.
“Having a ranking point system is a great step forward for the junior teams as they now have a world ranking position to reckon with. They will certainly be more prepared for the challenges and the competition level will be several notches higher compared to the previous editions in any tournament,” he added.
The Sultan of Johor Cup will be held at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium from Oct 27-Nov 4 here.