For the third time in four editions, India is set to host the Men’s Field Hockey World Cup. After New Delhi in 2010 and Bhubaneswar in 2018, the state of Odisha, which lies east of India on the Bay of Bengal, is adding a second city this time along with Rourkela. Despite everything it is in the bustling temple city that the final phase of the tournament will be held, which starts on Friday and will end on January 29.
A day after the opening ceremony worthy of a Bollywood film, with nearly 45,000 people gathered in the stands of the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, north of Bhubaneswar, sport has finally taken its due.
Around Kalinga Stadium, site of Belgium’s coronation in late 2018, the walls are colorful and decorated with several hockey frescoes. Players from all countries can be recognized there. Among them is Belgium captain Felix Denayer, whose portrait appeared on Thursday.
Belgium, which has been preparing for weeks, will conduct its final training on Friday afternoon in the impressive annex of the Kalinga Stadium, a stone’s throw from a noisy six-lane artery where horns blare incessantly. .
The Red Lions, Olympic and world champions, will kick off their tournament on Saturday at 17:00 local time (12:30 Belgium), when the soft twilight will replace the heat of the day. They will challenge South Korea in a match that should feel more like a full-scale practice than a true test. The opposite will worry Michel van den Heuvel’s team, who are coming forward with the mark of serious favorites behind them.
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