India is the defending champion having won the last edition of the tournament in 2016 at Lucknow beating Belgium 2-1. Germany had beaten Australia 3-0 for the Bronze.

The much-awaited announcement was made in Bhubaneswar on Thursday by Odisha Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, in the presence of FIH President Narinder Batra and Hockey India Secretary General Rajinder Singh, and state's Sports minister Tusharkanti Behera.

Following Hockey Australia and Hockey New Zealand's decision to pull out of the tournament due to COVID-related international travel restrictions put in place by their respective governments, they have been replaced by the USA and Canada.

Since the qualification process for the event stipulates that the Pan American Hockey Federation has the quota of the first reserve, the USA – who finished third of the recent Junior Pan Am Championships - have been selected.

The second reserve spot was attributed to the best team in the FIH World Rankings (Seniors) not yet qualified, namely Canada.

The 12th edition of the tournament will feature India, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, South Africa, Egypt, Belgium, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, USA, Canada, Chile and Argentina.

While Odisha is also gearing up to host the 2023 Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik accepted the proposal to host the Junior World Cup in the state capital in November-December.

Launching the logo for this event, the chief minister said. "Odisha is the hub for hockey in the country and the State Government will continue to do everything in our capacity to help the sport grow further and achieve further laurels on the world level.

"We look forward to welcoming 16 top teams from across the world to participate in the Junior World Cup. We are delighted to be hosts of this prestigious tournament. Our priority will be to ensure a safe environment to compete during these challenging covid times."

Speaking on the occasion FIH Narinder Batra, "The Men's Junior World Cup is the pinnacle of tournaments for U-21 and is a very important fixture in the FIH calendar.

"We are delighted that Odisha with their world-class infrastructure is set to host an event of this magnitude. As always, we have been extended full support by the Odisha State Government and the event will be held following all required Covid-19 protocols.”

Speaking on the preparations for theJunior World Cup which is less than three months away, Hockey India Secretary General Rajinder Singh said, "It is a great honour for Hockey India to host back-to-back FIH Hockey Junior Men's World Cup in 2016.

Hockey India over the years has organized several events of international importance in India and with the support of the Odisha Government, we are confident of organising yet another memorable event for the participating teams, officials and the fans."