BHUBANESWAR: The Indian men's hockey team, placed fifth in the world rankings, will aim to end its 43-year-long wait for the World Cup title when it begins its campaign at the 14th edition of the tournament here at the Kalinga Stadium on Wednesday.
The tournament will feature 16 teams divided into four pools of four teams. While the pool toppers will earn direct entry into the quarterfinals, the second and third placed teams will have to earn their place via play-offs.
Hosts India are in Pool C alongside South Africa, Belgium and Canada for the 19-day prestigious tournament which will be played in the Odisha capital.
Manpreet Singh will lead the home side, with Chinglensana Singh Kangujam serving as his deputy and Harendra Singh as the coach.
The Men in Blue are scheduled to cross swords with 15th-placed South Africa in their first match of the group stage in what would be the second match of the opening day of the showpiece event.
Here is the complete schedule and squad of the Indian men's hockey team:
INDIA
Coach: Harendra Singh
Players: PR Sreejesh, Krishna Bahadur Pathak, Harmanpreet Singh, Birendra Lakra, Varun Kumar, Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, Surender Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Manpreet Singh (Captain), Chinglensana Singh Kangujam (Vice-Captain), Nilakanta Sharma, Hardik Singh, Sumit, Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Simranjeet Singh
SCHEDULE
November 28, 2018
India VS South Africa -19:00 IST
December 2, 2018
India VS Belgium-19:00 IST
December 8, 2018
Canada VS India -19:00 IST
Cross-Over:
December 11, 2018
2nd Pool C VS 3rd Pool D -16:45 IST
2nd Pool D VS 3rd Pool C- 19:00 IST
The four quarter-final matches will take place on December 12 and 13, which will be followed by the semi-finals on November 15. The match for the third position and the final are scheduled to be held on December 16.
The 2018 Hockey World Cup will be telecast on Star Sports Network, while the live streaming of the event will be available on Hotstar as well as live TV platforms like Jio TV and Airtel TV.
