Hockey World Cup 2018 Started in Bhubaneswar
Hockey World Cup 2018 has been launched in Bhubaneswar. Host India started its campaign in the 14th Hockey World Cup. This match is being played at the Kalinga Stadium of Bhubaneswar. India’s first match will be from South Africa.
A total of 16 teams of the world are participating in this Mahakumbh of hockey, which will be held from 28th November to 16th December 2018.
In the World Cup, 16 teams have been divided into four groups. Host India has got a place in Pool ‘C’ while Pakistan is placed in Pool ‘D’. In this World Cup, India will play their first match against South Africa on 28 November.
Group A – Argentina, New Zealand, Spain and France
Group B – Australia, England, Ireland, and China
Group C-India, Belgium, Canada, and South Africa
Group D-Netherlands, Germany, Malaysia, and Pakistan
World Cup hockey:
World Cup hockey was started in the year 1971 and Pakistan has so far captured the title four times. Australia and the Netherlands three-three and Germany have twice won the World Cup. India had captured the World Cup in 1975.
Hockey World Cup for the third time in India:
India is hosting the third Hockey India Cup for the third time. Earlier, in the year 1982 and the year 2010, India hosted the Hockey World Cup.
Broadcast in 194 countries:
The matches are being broadcast in 194 countries of the world. Giving this information through the International Hockey Federation (FIH) on November 26, 2018, through a release, it said that it has increased by 150 percent in comparison to the previous version in 2014.
India has not won any medal for 43 years:
For the past four decades, European teams have dominated world hockey. India made the best performance since 1975 in the 1992 World Cup in Mumbai, when it was at the fifth place. India has only three medals including one gold medal (1975), one silver medal (1973) and one bronze medal (1971).
Australia is at number first position in the world hockey rankings this time. The role of Pakistan, who has named himself the title of the four-time Hockey World Cup, is also considered to be very important in this tournament.
Indian team:
Goalkeepers: PR Shreejesh, Krishnan Bahadur Pathak.
Defender: Harmanpreet Singh, Gurinder Singh, Varun Kumar, Kothajit Singh, Surendra Kumar, Germanpreet Singh, Hardik Singh.
Midfielder: Manpreet Singh (Captain), Sumit, Nilkant Sharma, Lalit Kumar Upadhyaya, Chinglesana Singh.
Forward: Akashdeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Mandeep Singh a, d Dilpreet Singh.
Source :PIB India
Read More :