Hockey World Cup 2023: Everything you need to know
The 15th edition of the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup is set to take place in India from January 13-29. Bhubaneswar and Rourkela in Odisha will play host to the competition. India, who last won the trophy in 1975, are one of the hot favorites in the marquee tournament. They are clubbed in Pool D alongside England, Spain, and Wales. Here are more details.
Here are the important dates
The Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar and Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium in Rourkela will host the entire Hockey World Cup. Argentina will play the tournament opener against South Africa on January 13 (1:00 PM IST). The quarter-finals will take place on January 24-25, with the semi-finals scheduled on January 27. The final will take place on January 29 in Bhubaneswar.
Presenting the 16 participating teams
Pool A: Australia, Argentina, France, and South Africa. Pool B: Belgium, Germany, South Korea, and Japan. Pool C: Netherlands, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Chile. Pool D: India, England, Spain, and Wales. The group winners will qualify for the quarter-finals straightaway. The second and third-placed sides from each pool will compete in cross-overs from where four more teams will reach the quarter-finals.
Where to watch the Hockey World Cup?
The matches will be telecast live on Star Sports Network, while live-streaming will be available on the Disney+Hotstar app.
India's performance at the Hockey World Cup
India last won the tournament in 1975, finishing second and third in 1973 and 1971, respectively. Team India wound up sixth in the 2018 edition. As per TOI, it would be the first instance since 1982 when India play at a Hockey World Cup as a medalist from the last Olympics. India ended a 41-year-long wait by winning bronze in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
India will host the Hockey World Cup for fourth time
It will be the fourth occasion when India will host the tournament, after 1982 Mumbai, 2010 Delhi, and 2018 Odisha. It will be the most number of times a nation hosted the Hockey World Cup. Notably, India is the first nation to be hosting the tournament twice in a row.
India's 18-member squad
Goalkeepers: P.R. Sreejesh, Krishna Pathak. Defenders: JarManpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh (captain), Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas (vice-captain), Nilam Sanjeep Xess. Midfielders: Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Shamsher Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Akashdeep Singh. Forwards: Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh. Standby: Rajkumar Pal, Jugraj Singh.
Belgium will be raring to defend their title
Belgium, the 2018 winners, will look to defend their title and pocket second such honor. Pakistan are the most successful nation, having lifted the trophy four times. However, they failed to qualify for the 2023 edition. Pakistan last won the Hockey World Cup in 1994. Both Australia and Netherlands have won three titles each.
A look at other interesting facts
As per TOI, Belgium midfielder John-John Dohmen holds a record 436 international caps to his name. He will be the most-capped player in the 2023 edition. Gonzalo Peillat, the top scorer in the 2014 World Cup, will be playing for Germany after switching his national from Argentina to Germany in 2022. Meanwhile, Wales and Chile will be debuting in the coveted tournament.
