The Indian Men Hockey Team has qualified for the Rabobank Hockey World Cup to be held in The Hague, Netherlands from 31 May – 15 June 2014, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) confirmed on Sunday.

India’s participation in next year’s FIH most prestigious event was confirmed following the completion of the men’s Oceania Cup Continental Championships in Stratford, New Zealand on 3 November 2013.

Like all of the Continental Championships, the winners of the men’s Oceania Cup tournaments always get direct qualification to the World Cup. However, with Australian team having already achieved World Cup qualification thanks to strong performances in the Hockey World League Semi Finals, the door was subsequently opened to the teams that finished outside the top three at the Hockey World League Semi-Finals that had not yet qualified for the World Cup.

India men’s team who finished sixth place at the Rabobank Hockey World League Semi Final in Rotterdam has proven to be enough for their participation and have also been handed their ticket for the World Cup.

A total of 11 teams have now qualified for the Rabobank Hockey World Cup, with just one more place left to fill. The remaining berth will be taken by the winners of the rescheduled Men’s Africa Cup of Nations, which takes place from 18-24 November in Nairobi, Kenya.

The other teams who have qualified for the Rabobank World Cup are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, England, Germany, India, Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand and Spain.