Union Labour and Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday, 8 June 2026 met the Indian men's and women's under-18 hockey squads who brought home medals from the Under-18 Hockey Asia Cup, praising the players for raising the country's prestige on the continental stage.

Posting on X, the minister wrote: 'aaj Under-18 Hockey Asia Cup mein shandar pradarshan kar desh ka maan badhane wale hamare purush evam mahila khiladiyon se mulaqat ki' — ['Today I met our men's and women's players who performed brilliantly at the Under-18 Hockey Asia Cup and raised the nation's honour.'] He noted that the Men's Team won the gold medal and the Women's Team won the bronze medal, adding that both squads had made all of India proud.

Context

The Under-18 Hockey Asia Cup is a continental junior tournament organised by the Asian Hockey Federation, featuring separate competitions for men's and women's national teams of players aged 18 and under. India's men clinching gold and the women securing bronze represents a strong combined showing for Indian junior hockey at the Asian level. Ministerial meetings with returning medallists have become a regular feature of sports recognition under the current government.

Policy Backdrop

India's junior hockey pipeline has been shaped by two flagship central programmes. The Khelo India scheme, launched in 2017, was designed to build grassroots infrastructure and identify talent at the district and state level. The Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), introduced in 2014, provides focused financial and technical support to elite and emerging athletes, including juniors on the cusp of senior selection.

The renewed emphasis on junior hockey gained momentum after the Indian men's senior team won a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, ending a 41-year medal drought. That result prompted Hockey India and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to deepen investment in academy programmes, foreign coaching exposure, and competitive tournament calendars for under-18 and under-21 squads.

Stakeholders and Impact

Hockey India, the national federation responsible for selecting and fielding junior teams, stands to benefit from heightened ministerial visibility, which typically translates into sustained or increased annual grants from the sports ministry. For the players themselves — many from smaller towns and sports academies — a direct meeting with a Union Minister provides both public recognition and a signal that central support will continue.

The parallel success of the Women's Team is notable in the context of the government's stated emphasis on gender-balanced sports promotion. Consistent Asian-level results for the women's junior side reinforce the case for parity in funding, coaching resources, and competitive exposure between men's and women's programmes.

What's Next

The immediate focus for both squads will shift to preparation for the next Hockey Junior World Cup, where Asian performances are closely watched as a predictor of global competitiveness. Any new funding allocations for hockey — at the junior or senior level — are expected to feature in deliberations around the forthcoming Union Budget. Mandaviya's public recognition of the medallists is likely to keep hockey's profile elevated in policy conversations through the rest of the year.