The 14th edition of the men’s Hockey World Cup is set to kick-off in India on 28 November, and the past week has seen teams from all over the world arriving in the host-city of Bhubaneswar.
About 16 countries will be participating in the 19-day tournament, including hosts India, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, England, Spain, Pakistan, New Zealand, France, China, South Africa, Malaysia, Canada and Ireland.
While the India have not won a World Cup since their first and only title in 1975, the visiting countries believe that with the advantage of home turf, the Manpreet Singh-led team could be tough contenders this time around.
Will be Great to Beat India in India: Pakistan Captain
Pakistan have "learnt" their lessons from the 2014 Champions Trophy controversy and are prepared to handle the crowd pressure in the hockey World Cup in India, said captain Muhammad Rizwan senior.
Four years ago, some Pakistani players had gone overboard with their celebrations after their semi-final win over India in the Champions Trophy, triggering a major controversy.
Two Pakistani players were banned by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) for their obscene gestures.
"It was not a pleasant experience, we have learnt from that," Pakistan skipper said.
“We have discussed that incident and it is behind us now. This time we know we need to be totally focused on our game and nothing else. If we can beat India in India great, but our main objective is doing well in the World Cup not about just one match.”Muhammad Rizwan, Pakistan Captain
He said his players can deal with the crowd pressures.
"Obviously we know the Indian crowds will generally not be supporting us in matches. In the end it is all about hockey and both teams will want to win and that should produce a good contest. We hope the people who come to watch the World Cup in the end will just appreciate the team that plays well on a particular day," he said.
India Will be Tough to Beat: Australia Captain
Australia captain Aran Zalewski believes it will be one of the most open men's hockey World Cups in recent times and his team will have to test themselves against the best to defend the title here.
“World hockey is close at the moment and very competitive and any team can win and obviously India at home with home crowd will be very tough to beat. We have a chance to test ourselves against the best in the world as we haven’t tested ourselves since Rio (2016 Olympics) so we want to do very well here.”Aran Zalewski, Australia Captain
India Among Favourites: Spain Coach
Spain's head coach Frederic Soyez believes the men's hockey World Cup will be evenly-contested with more than seven teams vying for a medal but said India will be among the favourites to lift the championship trophy.
Spain, who arrived in India on 23 November, are ranked No.8 in the world.
“I think this will be a very closely contested event with more than six to seven teams on par with each other fighting for a medal. Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia and India will be good contenders for Championship Title.”Frederic Soyez, Spain’s Head Coach
Will Be Privilege to Play India: South Africa Captain
Playing hosts India in the opening match of the World Cup Hockey is the kind of challenge any team awaits, said South African captain Tim Drummond.
“It will be a privilege to play India in the first match and experience the crowd. I have heard it is going to be very loud with all the cheering. Though it’s not my first time in India, many of my teammates are travelling here for the first time and they are very excited to be playing in Bhubaneswar, which has great support for hockey.”Tim Drummond, South Africa Captain
South Africa will be playing India in a pool C encounter at the Kalinga Stadium on 28 November.
(With inputs from PTI)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)