Hockey World Cup 2018
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in Chill Out
India is hosting the 2018 FIH (International Hockey Federation) Men's Hockey World Cup at Bhubaneswar, Odisha which is scheduled from November 28 to December 16. Sixteen nations are competing in the 19-day long tournament, which are divided into four pools.
India, which ranks number 5 in the FIH rankings, is placed in Pool C alongside Rio Olympics runner-up Belgium, Canada and South Africa.
Teams finishing at the top of their pool would be qualified for the quarterfinals while those finishing second and third will play the crossover matches for a place in the last-eight stage. Teams ending last in their respective pool will be eliminated.
Schedule of the Men's Hockey World Cup 2018
Comments
Even Belgium Team is baffled by the exclusion of Rupinder Pal Singh.
For the last 10 World Cups in a row, India has failed to make it to the semi-finals of the World Cup
In 7 of its last 10 World Cups, India had a negative Goals Scored ratio ('Goals For' less than 'Goals Against') - 1978, 1986, 1990, 1998, 2006, 2010, 2014
In 4 of its last 10 World Cups, the Indian team won just 1 match in the entire tournament - 1986, 1990, 2006, 2010
Hockey World Cup 2018: In Temple City of Bhubaneswar, a hockey pilgrimage
Bhubaneswar might not be the sport's birthplace, but pre-world cup frenzy suggests it could be the spiritual home.
Hockey has come home. It might sound a cheesy spinoff of England’s Russia 2018 call, but in the current context, it somehow fits just right. For most players, a hockey tournament in India is more than just about the sport—it’s almost a spiritual voyage. And a competition in Bhubaneswar, a World Cup no less, feels like homecoming. “It’s a lifetime experience to play here,” gushes Argentine star Gonzalo Peillat, the Cristiano Ronaldo equivalent of world hockey.
Bhubaneswar isn’t the birthplace of hockey. But talk to the locals, and they’ll spend hours convincing you that this where its soul resides. Hockey isn’t just a way of life for them; it is life —especially for those from the tribal belt. That’s the reason why Hockey India showed the courage to take an event of this magnitude to a town that’s never seen anything like this before. “Sixteen countries are coming to Odisha, can you imagine!” Bijoy, an auto driver, says. “It’s all because of hockey. Why else would they care about this place?”
This World Cup is a cross between sport, society and politics. The state has reached out to the world like no other hosts before them. They have been innovative and aggressive, not something that you usually associate with the sport. Hockey tournaments globally are generally understated. But Bhubaneswar has broken the mould with the bling.
Sportspersons across spectrum have lent their support to the event and Bollywood’s biggest celebrities will be performing at the opening ceremony. The city itself has undergone a massive facelift, the walls adorned with murals of global stars from the women and men’s game.
On Monday, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik posed with the trophy and 16 captains at the Mukhteshwar temple while the state’s sports minister, Chandra Sarathi Behera participated in a hawan in the stands while Argentina and Canada played a practice match. “So much effort has gone into all this, you need some divine intervention to ensure everything goes off smoothly,” one of Behera’s security guards says.
Not just effort, a lot of money too has gone into all this. Odisha government claims they’ve spent close to Rs 100 crore in refurbishing the stadium and branding the tournament. The spending isn’t just restricted to branding.
Magical makeover
The Kalinga Stadium has undergone unrecognizable transformation. Four years ago, when it hosted its first tournament — the Champions Trophy — it was a worn-out facility that lacked character. Now, it looks chic. The two brand new stands, the plush dressing rooms and the glittering VIP boxes give the stadium a trendy look.
You can feel the atmosphere even when it’s empty. It’s hard to imagine how it will be when it’s full and local stars Birender Lakra or Amit Rohidas make those charging runs forward. Actually, it’s not. “It’ll be mad, won’t it?” wonders Australian legend Ric Charlesworth. “They’ve done an incredible job with the stadium.”
It’s refreshing. But it’s also debatable. There have been muted objections to the scale of the government’s spending. There’s also a political undertone to it, with several locals suggesting that the current BJD government is trying to score crucial brownie points by projecting the World Cup as its own success story — the numerous hoardings of Patnaik that are peppered across the city make no attempt at hiding that bit. The other argument can be that hockey, finally, is getting its due. For far too long, the sport has moaned about receiving step-motherly treatment. Of course, the scale and hockey World Cups cannot be compared to football or cricket. But there is a difference. With football, nations are often left with the feeling that they’ve been used. FIFA’s corporate gloss and sanitization take away the host city’s original identity.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH), on the other hand, barely interferes. They’ve so far been involved only in the technical aspects. Of course, it works in the organisers’ favour that the president of the FIH, Narinder Batra, was the Hockey India chief not too long ago and continues to wield huge influence even today. With its Bhubaneswar backdrop, the tournament already has so much to offer that it would be a shame it the sport’s stars do not weave their magic. The stage is set for the game’s biggest names—for Peillat, Florian Fuchs, Mink van der Weerden and the rest although India will hope to quell them.
Perhaps, a new generation superstar will emerge in the shape of Spain’s Enrique Gonzalez, among the few who still practices the dying art of dribbling, or even Dilpreet Singh, the young Indian who has been turning quite a few heads with his opportunistic finishing. Australia are chasing their third consecutive title, an unprecedented feat. A couple of years ago, that seemed a distant possibility, but they have not just survived the transitory phase but emerged stronger. But their task will be made daunting by a resurgent Dutch team and a Belgian side that’s still keen to justify its ‘golden generation’ tag.
If past tournaments here are a template, then anything is possible. One thing, though, is certain: if the temple city is the spiritual home of hockey, then, for the next three weeks, the players will be its high priests.
Hockey World Cup 2018 Full Squads
The full list of all the squads participating in the Hockey Men's World Cup 2018, which is set to take place in Bhubaneswar, Odisha from November 28 to December 16
I didnt like the Opening Ceremony. 1 hour of Shahrukh Khan, 1 hour of Madhuri Dixit, 1 hour of AR Rehman. Where was Orissa / Odisha ?? Someone forgot to brief Batra Saab and anchor Gaurav Kapoor that Orissa is now Odisha !!! It looks like the contract was given to Wizcraft - the same company which produces Filmfare Awards. Althugh there were no filmy gyration of hips on remix songs like IPL Opening ceremonies, whatever these three luminaries dished out was plain boring stuff. Muted response by public on 25 year old songs rendition by AR Rehman in the most boring way. It was difficult to fathom what Madhuri Dixit wanted to say in about 1 hour !!!
It was a brilliant opportunity to host the ceremony with Odisha anchor, show local singers, Local film stars, Music Bands, artists, dances, school children, Classical music, history of Puri, Bhubaneswar, Industrial growth, and they wasted it. We would like to see them. If you cant showcase local talent/history/culture even in the ceremony hosted in your state, when will you do it ??
Delhi Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony was a masterful event and set the benchmark very high with creativity and opulence. Since then, we have regressed with wizcraft / filmfare stuff- either show filmy dance or not !!!