Indian hockey team will start its first match in World Cup hockey against South Africa at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. They will go with the goal of winning the medal after 43 years in the World Cup. The eight-time Olympic champion Indian team won the only World Cup in 1975 when Ajit Pal Singh and his team made history.

Since then, Indian team has failed to reach the level of the Netherlands, Germany and Australia. For the past four decades, European teams have dominated world hockey. India did the best performance since 1975 in the 1982 World Cup in Mumbai, when the team was at fifth place. In the last 43 years, Indian did not get medal of World Cup.

India, is on fifth in the world rankings, and India have to play best to achieve the goal but it will not be as easy because India will have to face the two-time champions Australia, Netherlands, Germany and Olympic champions Argentina. Apart from this, the heavy pressure of expectations from them of good performance.

Sixteen years later, there are sixteen teams in the World Cup, which are divided into four-four pools. The top team will play in the quarter-finals from each pool, while the second and third teams will play in the last eight by playing crossover. Belgium will face Canada in the second match on the first day.

Courtesy By :- Daily Hunt