The draw for this quadrennial extravaganza was announced today in Tokyo, Japan. The tournaments will be staged in the brand-new Oi Hockey Stadium from 25 July to 7 August.

India (Men) is clubbed with defending Olympic Champions Argentina, World No.1 Australia, Spain, New Zealand and Japan in Pool A will play against Australia side on 26 and against Spain in their third match on 28 July . After a day's break India will clash with Argentina on 30 July and then play hosts Japan on 31 July.

Men's Pool B includes Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain, Canada, and South Africa.


Indian Women's Team is also in Pool A along with Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland and South Africa. They will take on Germany in their second match on 27th July followed by the match against defending Champions Great Britain on 29th July . India will play Ireland on 31 July and South Africa in their last Pool match on 1 August

Women's Pool B comprises of Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, Spain, China, and Japan.

The opening match in men section will be between Japan and Australia, while the Women section will see the Netherlands – who are topping the FIH World Rankings – taking on India .who will be making their second consecutive Olympic appearance.

Commenting on the draw, Men's Hockey Team Skipper Manpreet Singh opined : "A good start will always give the right confidence and momentum to carry on in the tournament so it will be important for us to begin with a win. New Zealand have always posed stiff competition for us and I believe it can be a close game,"

"The team will need to keep a check on their nerves.It is important to keep our nerves in check as opening matches can be a bit overwhelming especially at a major event like the Olympics," he said adding "Every game will be crucial at the Olympics and we cannot let our guard down against any team even if they are ranked below us. The competition will be so high that each match will need to be played like it's the final,"

Women's Team Skipper Rani was of the view that "Draw does not matter because in the Olympics every team is equal and every team will come with an aim to win. As a team, we need to focus on ourselves and what we can do better on the given day. We are preparing well to ensure we tick all the boxes in each of our match and put all the energy into every game we play and give our best to the blue shirt if we want to see ourselves in the quarter finals and semi finals."

The Men's Quarter Finals have been slated for 2 August, Semi Finals will be held on 4 August while Quarter Finals for the Women is scheduled on 3 August and the Semi Finals on 5 August .

The Men’s and Women’s Gold and and Bronze Medal matches will take place on 6 and 7 August respectively.