Hockey World Cup 2023 / Hockey's Mahakumbh will start from today, know the complete details of the first day

Hockey World Cup 2023: The wait for the Hockey World Cup 2023 is over and the matches will start from today i.e. Friday, January 13. By the way, the tournament started on Wednesday with a spectacular opening ceremony in Cuttack. But the field is going to start from today. A total of four matches including the Indian team match will be played on the first day. Team India will face Spain on the very first day of the tournament, while World No. 1 Australia will also be seen in action today.

Let us tell you that this is the 15th edition of the Hockey World Cup. For the second time in a row, the tournament is being organized in India, but this time the different thing is that not one but two cities are hosting it. Last time the matches were held only in Bhubaneswar, while this time the Birsa Munda Stadium of Rourkela is also ready. A total of 16 teams are participating in this mega event. All the teams are divided into four groups of 4-4. The Indian team is in Group D along with England, Spain and Wales. Each team will have to play 3-3 matches at the league stage. After this, the top 2 teams of each group will go to the quarterfinals. Then four teams will qualify for the semi-finals from here. The final match will be held between the top two teams on January 29 and both the semi-final losers will compete in the bronze medal match.

We are excited to see the packed crowd at the Birsa Munda Stadium, Rourkela! 🤩#HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame #HWC2023 #StarsBecomeLegends @CMO_Odisha @sports_odisha @IndiaSports @Media_SAI pic.twitter.com/kiXPmrH2R8

— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) January 12, 2023

4 matches will be played on the first day

• Argentina vs South Africa (Bhubaneswar) - 1:00 PM
• Australia vs France (Bhubaneswar) - 3:00 PM
• England vs Wales (Rourkela) - 5:00 PM
• India vs Spain (Rourkela) - 7:00 PM

Talking about the Indian team, after this match, in the second match also, the team will take on the same ground against England on January 15. And on January 19, the team will play the last match of the league against Wales in Bhubaneswar. All league matches in India will start at 7 pm. The Hockey World Cup will be broadcast on Star Sports and Disney Plus Hotstar. India last won the title in 1975. In such a situation, every hockey fan hopes that the Indian team will end the drought of almost 48 years at their home.

Indian hockey team squad

PR Sreejesh (Goalkeeper), Krishna Pathak (Goalkeeper), Armanpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh (Captain), Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Neelam Sanjeep X, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Neelkanta Sharma, Shamsher Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Abhishek, Sukhjit Singh.