India clubbed with defending champions Argentina and Australia in Tokyo Olympics hockey

India has been clubbed along with defending champions Argentina and world number one side Australia in Pool A of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics men's hockey competition. The other teams in India's pool are Spain, New Zealand and hosts Japan. Pool B is made up of Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain, Canada, and South Africa in the groupings announced by the world governing body FIH on Saturday. India, ranked fifth in the world, had qualified for the Tokyo Olympics after beating Russia 11-3 on aggregate in the qualifiers held in Bhubaneswar earlier this month.

'Fans can expect thrilling hockey encounters'

The women's team has also been placed in Pool A along with defending champions Great Britain and world number one side the Netherlands. The other teams in Pool A are Germany, Ireland and South Africa. The Pool B is made up of Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, Spain, China and hosts Japan. Ranked ninth in the world, the Indian women's team had qualified for the Tokyo Olympics after beating the United States 6-5 on aggregate in the qualifiers held in Bhubaneswar earlier this month.

"To determine the composition of the pools, the same process has been applied as for the Olympic Games Rio 2016. With all participating teams being ranked among the top 16 teams of the current FIH World Rankings, fans can expect thrilling hockey encounters in Tokyo next year," the FIH said in a release.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympic hockey tournaments will be staged in the brand-new Oi Hockey Stadium from July 25 to August 7. The match schedule will be announced later.