INDIA’s juniors will arrive in the 2025 Sultan of Johor Cup (SoJC) Under-21 International Invitational tournament in Johor Bahru on the back of a successful tour of Europe that offered a new challenge to their emerging and experienced players.
The Europe tour in July was to prepare the team for the most unpredictable and challenging 13th edition of the SoJC held from Oct 11-18 at the Johor Hockey Stadium, and the countdown to the expanded 24-team FIH 2025 Junior World Cup hosted in Chennai and Madurai in December.
Except for Great Britain, the remaining five teams in the Sultan of Johor Cup will join India in the World Cup. Apart from seven-time champions Germany, Argentina, Australia and Pakistan, the Indians are also the most successful Under-21 junior hockey team in the world, having won the World Cup twice (2001, 2016), and the Asia Cup five times.
India’s junior men’s hockey team coach, PR Sreejesh said: “The team has been preparing well for the Sultan of Johor Cup. We have a good team, and with the Junior World Cup coming up, this tournament will be a good platform and rehearsal for the players to test themselves against strong opponents and gain valuable international experience”.
“We are looking forward to putting up a good performance in Malaysia,” added Sreejesh, who had also coached the team at the 2024 edition of the tournament.
India won the bronze medal in the previous edition of the Sultan of Johor Cup and will look to build on that performance this year.
They will begin their campaign against Great Britain on 11th October, followed by a clash with New Zealand on 12th October. They will then face Pakistan on 14th October, Australia on 15th October, and conclude their round-robin stage with a contest against hosts Malaysia on 17th October.
The top two teams in the standings will advance to the Final, scheduled for 18th October.
India’s history in the Sultan of Johor Cup has been formidable. The men in Blue emerged champions three times (2012, 2014, 2022), silver medallist four times (2012, 2015, 2018, 2019) and also won bronze medals (2017, 2023, 2024).
