India, Pakistan to face off in Hockey WL next year
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India have been placed in the same pool alongside arch-rivals Pakistan in the men's Hockey World League (HWL) Semi-Final 2017 to be held in London from June 15 to 25. The tournament will feature the 10 best teams in the world, and the top teams from each semi-final will qualify for Hockey World Cup.
India and Pakistan will play the game on 18th June 2017, where Pakistan will try to exact revenge for their Asian Champions Trophy loss to the arch-rivals. They have been placed in Pool B, where the only other confirmed team is Netherlands.Â
Apart from India and Pakistan, four other teams have already been confirmed so far for this showcase event, including hosts England, Rio Olympic champions Argentina, European champions Netherlands, and Korea. Â
Four other teams will gain qualification from the second round game of the Hockey World League events taking place between January and April next year.Â
HWL Semi-Finals are very important for the participating teams as it will help the teams gain vital FIH World Ranking points, which will be awarded depending on final standings of the tournament. The two top teams from each semi-final will qualify for the 2018 Hockey World Cups in India (men) and England (women) in addition to the Hockey World League Finals taking place in India (men) and New Zealand (women) later in 2017.
