One of the most eagerly awaited sports events, the quadrennial FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup is set to rise the curtain of its 15th edition on January 13 when the 2016 Olympic champions Argentina and South Africa line up at Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium.
Rourkela’s Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium (BMHS) and Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium are the two venues where the event will take place.
Altogether 44 matches, 20 at BMHS and 24 at the Kalinga, will culminate in the finals being held in Bhubaneswar on January 29.
A total of 16 countries are lined up to participate in the tournament and each of them has been organized into 4 pools for the preliminary round, where each country will clash against the remaining members of the pool in a round-robin format.
POOL A: Argentina, Australia, France, South Africa
POOL B: Belgium, Germany, Japan, Korea
POOL C: Chile, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand
POOL D: England, India, Spain, Wales
The match schedule for the Indian hockey team is –
January 13: 7 pm IST – India vs. Spain (Rourkela)
January 15: 7 pm IST – India vs. England (Rourkela)
January 19: 7 pm IST – India vs. Wales (Bhubaneshwar)
The Indian team will be led by one of the world’s best drag-flick exponents Harmanpreet Singh, with champions and former captains like PR Sreejesh and Manpreet Singh there to guide the young but immensely talented squad.
The further matches for the Indians as well as other teams will depend on their results after they play the league-level matches with each other.
