India is all set to host the 15th edition of the Men’s Hockey World Cup. A new stadium has been built-up in Rourkela ahead of the Hockey World Cup. 20 of 44 matches scheduled between Jan 13-29 in Rourkela’s new Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium. The other 24 matches will be played at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
The state government and local bodies have done a great job in organizing such an event with great enthusiasm. India has hosted Hockey World Cup four times prior to this, the debut was made in 1982 when the event was hosted in Bombay (currently Mumbai).
FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup Schedule and Fixtures
A total of 16 teams will be participating in the competition. The teams are divided into 4 pools (A-D). The Men’s Hockey World Cup are divided into theses groups as:
|
Pools |
Teams |
| Pool A | Australia, South Africa, France, Argentina |
| Pool B | Belgium, Japan, Korea, Germany |
| Pool C | Netherlands, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand |
| Pool D | India, Wales, Spain, England |
All the teams will play 3 matches consisting of competing against each member of their Pool. The teams at first position from all the Pools will directly qualify for the quarter-finals and the teams on second and third position will compete in crossover matches to qualify for the quarter finals.
The first match of the tournament is scheduled at 01:00PM on January 13, Friday between Argentina and South Africa. India will also play its first match of the tournament on January 13 at 07:00PM against Spain. The Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 final will be played on January 29, Sunday.
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FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023: Team India Line-up
The team India will be playing in Pool D and its first match is set against Spain. The team will be lead by one of the most best drag-flick exponents Harmanpreet Singh. Moreover, the young talent will perform under the guidance of stalwarts and former captains like PR Sreejesh and Manpreet Singh.
Team India will include following players in their team:
Goalkeepers |
| Sreejeshparattu Raveendran |
| Krishanb Pathak |
| Surajkarkera |
Indian Hockey Forwards |
Indian Hockey Midfielders |
| Abhishek | Hardik Singh |
| Dilpreet Singh | Manpreet Singh (VC) |
| Mandeep Singh | Mohammed Raheel Mouseen |
| S Karthi | Nilakanta Sharma |
| Sukhjeet Singh | Rabichandra Singh Moirangthem |
| Rajkumar Pal | |
| Shamsher Singh and Sumit |
Indian Hockey Defenders |
| Surender Kumar |
| Gurinder Singh |
| Jarmanpreet Singh |
| Dipsan Tirkey |
| Amitrohidas |
| Harmanpreetsingh |
| Nilamsanjeep Xess |
| Jugrajsingh |
| Sanjay |
| Mandeep Mor |
| Yashdeep Siwach |
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People Supporting India for FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023
Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics & Information Technology has shared a chart that shows a list of special trains that will run all over the Orissa (the hosting state for the Hockey World Cup 2023). This will improve the transportation service for the audience.
Hockey Special Train during FIH Hockey Men's World Cup -2023 pic.twitter.com/inCHdyu1Bv
— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) January 13, 2023
Indian Cricket Team Captain Virat Kohli, also praised Indian Hockey team and wished them with good wishes for thier upcoming matches;
My best wishes to our Indian men's hockey team for the World Cup. Go and enjoy yourself, we all are backing you. Good luck. 🇮🇳💪
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) January 13, 2023
Sheryas Iyer, another Indian Cricketer provided his support by posting a picture of Indian Hockey Team;
Good luck to our men’s hockey team for the World Cup 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/XpZ3sBbjVX
— Shreyas Iyer (@ShreyasIyer15) January 13, 2023
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