Work in Madurai hockey stadium coming along well for Junior World Cup, says HI treasurer Sekar Manoharan

Preparations for the hosting of the upcoming FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup are progressing well according to Hockey India treasurer Sekar J. Manoharan.

Manoharan was speaking to Sportstar at the unveiling of the schedule for the tournament in Chennai on Monday.

The tournament will be held from November 28 to December 10, and will be split between two venues, Chennai and Madurai. India, which has been drawn in Pool B alongside Chile, Pakistan, and Switzerland, will play two pool stage matches in Chennai and one match in Madurai.

Madurai will see the development of new facilities for the tournament. Manoharan confirmed that work has begun on this, saying, “In Madurai, they have already started the work. The pitches will be ready in another one month. They are also making a gallery stadium with Olympic turf.”

Manoharan also noted the significance of hosting matches in Madurai, including India’s match against Switzerland on December 2. “The Madurai audience is entirely different, the nearby districts also. It is a sports hub, particularly a hockey hub. Kovilpatti, Sivagangai and Ramanathapuram (nearby districts) produce so many players,” he said.

Speaking about the Chennai venue, Manoharan said that the stadium did its job during the 2023 Asian Champions Trophy. “The Chennai stadium did very well in the Asian Champions Trophy last year. It is a huge 12,000 audience capacity stadium. Now they’re going to improve the stadium, with a few works starting next week,” he noted.

That success of the Asian Champions Trophy has resulted in demand for the stadium, and Manoharan revealed that it will be in use a fair amount in the near future. “After this World Cup, we are planning to do the Hockey India League also here in Chennai in January,” he revealed.

Published on Sep 09, 2025