I am visiting Bhubaneshwar, India for the World Cup Hockey Championship among 90+ nations, 16 of whom have qualified for the final rounds in Bhubaneshwar and Rourkela in India. Important knockouts are in Bhubaneshwar, so I decided to stick here, instead of visiting Rourkela. I will send regular snippets of the competition for your quick review.
There are four groups each with four teams. After playing league matches, the last team is eliminated. The second and third teams play cross-over, then quarterfinals, semi-finals and finals. It means only one team is eliminated at the end of league matches.
Four pools are:
Pool A: Argentina, Australia, France, South Africa
Pool B: Belgium, Germany, Japan, Korea
Pool C: Netherlands, New Zealand, Malaysia, Chile
Pool D: India, England, Spain, Wales
Being an American citizen, I would have loved to have the USA in the tournament. Besides, Pakistan has had illustrious success in the world cup tournaments with four out of 14 championships. But they could not qualify. I will explain that bizarre situation in the next snippet.
Why is India in a tough spot? England is ranked 5th; India is ranked 6th and Spain is ranked 8th. While Wales is a newcomer, they have shown great promise in recent Commonwealth games. It means, if they win against any of the three teams, they can throw the pool in complete chaos. Incidentally, Pool B is also in the same predicament.
Finally, some stats: India has won the world cup in 1975 and bronze in recent Tokyo Olympics. Guided by able coach from Australia, Graham Reid, they are hungry, fit, fast, have stamina and skills. England has reached the semis in the last three consecutive world cups and have never even got the bronze medal. They are hungry. Spain is a traditional spoiler and Wales is entering this tournament for the first time. They will create chaos in Pool D. Enjoy, Go India Go!
