Hockey World Cup: India to face South Africa in opener

BHUBANESWAR: Backed with a strong home support, India will look to kickstart their campaign at the Men's Hockey World Cup on a winning note when they take on South Africa in the opening match in Pool C here at the Kalinga Stadium on Wednesday. 

Heading into the tournament, eight-time Olympic champions India--who had last won the World Cup trophy way back in 1975 with a 2-1 win over arch-rivals Pakistan in the final--will seek to end their 43-year-long hunt for the prestigious title. 

While the Indian team are currently ranked fifth in the world, South Africa are occupying 15th spot in the standings. 

It is to be noted that India last appeared in the World Cup at home in 2010 in the national capital, where they made a lowly eighth-place finish. Intrestingly, all the nine countries who have hosted a World Cup so far have failed to make better than an eighth-place finish. However, the Men in Blue will eye to rewrite the history in front of their fans. 

The tournament will also give a chance to coach Harendra Singh to prove his critics wrong after the home side's disappointing run in the 2018 Asian Games, where they failed to defend their title after a semi-final defeat at the hands of Malaysia. 

India last faced South Africa during the 2014 edition of the Commonwealth Games, where the former side secured a 5-2 win. The two sides have not met each other for the last four years, especially because of funding issues faced by South Africa.  

Not amongst the favourites to lift the trophy, South Africa players have paid from their own pockets to just be a part of the men's hockey World Cup this time around.

Expressing his sentiments over the same, South Africa coach Mark Hopkins had on Tuesday admitted that the biggest hurdle for the growth of the game in South Africa is "funding".

"The more hockey South Africa plays the better it is. But our challenge is to get the funding in place to allow us to compete in as many Test matches we possibly can," Hopkins told PTI on the eve of his side's opener against hosts India.

"We are coming into the World Cup with players needing to pay from their own pocket. They paid to be part of the camps. Our challenge is to get the funding in place. We are lucky to have a few sponsors but the sponsorships we have don't really cover the budget of the World Cup," he added. 

The tournament will feature a total of 16 teams divided in four pools of four teams each, with defending champions Australia going in as firm favourites.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.

The two squads are as follows:

India: PR Sreejesh, Krishna Bahadur Pathak, Harmanpreet Singh, Birendra Lakra, Varun Kumar, Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, Surender Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Manpreet Singh (C), Chinglensana Singh Kangujam, Nilakanta Sharma, Hardik Singh, Sumit, Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay and Simranjeet Singh.

South Africa: Tim Drummond (C), Dayaan Cassiem, Taylor Dart, Tyson Dlungwana, Jethro Eustice, Rhett Halkett, Tommy Hammond, Keenan Horne, Julian Hykes, Gowan Jones, Peabo Lembethe, Mo Mea, Bili Ntuli, Taine Paton, Richard Pautz, Rassie Pieterse, Austin Smith and Nic Spooner