India began their Hockey World Cup campaign with a 2-0 win over Spain in Odisha's Rourkela on Friday. The home side was led by Captain Harmanpreet Singh and was in great form as they secured an important win.
The Indian team is currently ranked sixth in the world and is expected to be one of the medal contenders with their talented bunch of players. They were boosted by goals from Amit Rohidas (12) and Hardik Singh (26), with the match being played in front of a packed Rourkela audience.
The 2023 Hockey World Cup is the 14th edition of the tournament. The tournament is being held in India, specifically in the city of Bhubaneswar.
The tournament will feature 16 teams, divided into four groups for the preliminary round. The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals. The tournament will be held from January 13 to 29, 2023.
The defending champions are Belgium who won the 2018 edition in Bhubaneswar.
India will be hosting the tournament for the second time, with the previous being in 2018. The tournament will be played on blue turf, which is considered to be faster than the traditional green turf.
The tournament will be held at the Kalinga Stadium, which has a capacity of 15,000 spectators. The tournament will feature some of the best teams in the world, including Australia, Belgium, Argentina, Netherlands, Germany, and many more.
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