By Mata Press Service

Canada faces a tough road at the 14th edition of the Men’s Field Hockey World Cup championships that begins this week in the ancient Indian temple city of Bhubaneswar.

But the Canadian team, with a large contingent from Vancouver, is hoping to pull off some upsets with grit and determination, during the 19-day event which officially opened on November 28.

After the Olympics, the Hockey World Cup is the most important tournament in field hockey.

This year’s edition, in the capital city of the eastern Indian state of Odisha, will be the third Men’s Hockey World Cup to be held in India—after Mumbai in 1982 and New Delhi in 2010.

Canada is currently ranked 11th in the world and last qualified for the World Cup in 2010. After failing to qualify for the 2014 World Cup, The Men’s National Team will be looking to improve on their 2010 finish of 11th.  Canada sits as the third seed in Pool C along with India, South Africa, and Belgium.

Canada’s road certainly isn’t easy. They have the opening match of the tournament against the world number three, Belgium. Then they take on South Africa in what will be a revenge match after Commonwealth Games. Their final pool-play game is against the host-nation India and takes place on December 8, 2018

"Major tournaments in India can be unpredictable at times. I think that with the current World Cup format, there is a good chance we will see upsets in the Pool stages," said Canada’s head coach, Paul Bundy.

“It’s important for us to have a good start,” he said.

“We are a hard-working team, with a good amount of grit and determination…There is an element of unpredictability with us as we have shown over the last couple of years…We have the ability to beat higher ranked teams when it matters. 

“We have played in India a number of times over the years, so I think the athletes and staff will have an idea of what to expect,” he said.

Veterans Scott Tupper, Mark Pearson and David Carter lead Canada aka The Red Caribou into battle with over 500 international caps between them.

In its 47-year history, Pakistan is the most successful team with four title triumphs. India has qualified for the World Cup for a record 14 times but only won it once in 1975. Australia, who defeated Netherlands 6-1 in the 2014 World Cup final in Hague, will enter the tournament as defending champions.

From this year onwards, there will be 16 teams instead of 12. There will be four group stages, with 36 matches to be played in 18 match days. There will be 27 technical officials from 18 countries appointed by the International Hockey Federation.

The venue, Kalinga Stadium, capacity has been expanded for the World Cup from 9,000 to 15,000 by adding two more galleries.

The hockey extravaganza will see Academy award-winning music maestro A.R. Rahman collaborating with Shah Rukh Khan for the anthem of the tournament.

Other Bollywood celebs expected to make a showing include veteran star Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan.

Thanks to media rights agreements signed by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) with over thirty broadcast partners worldwide, the TV coverage of the tournament will reach no less than 194 countries.

This represents an increase of almost 150% compared to the last edition of the men’s flagship event in 2014.

Furthermore, the games will be shown by over 30 broadcasters, which is twice more than four years ago.

In territories where no media rights agreement is in place, the matches will be streamed on the FIH YouTube channel.

The host broadcasting operations will be delivered by Indian TV company Star Sports.

“It is our will and mission to bring hockey to the attention of always more people. The great increase of countries where it will be possible to watch the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018 on TV will enable many more fans to follow the action! This will give hockey more exposure than ever before,” said Federation of International Hockey CEO Thierry Weil.

At a glance

The Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018 will be a 19-day event, which will start from 28 November 2018 and end on 16 December 2018.

The tournament will be held at the iconic Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

A total of 16 countries will be participating in the tournament, namely hosts India, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, England, Spain, Pakistan, New Zealand, France, China, South Africa, Malaysia, Canada, and Ireland.

Participating Teams

Pool A: Argentina, New Zealand, Spain, and France

Pool B: Australia, England, Ireland, and China

Pool C: Belgium, India, Canada, and South Africa

 Pool D:  Netherlands, Germany, Malaysia and Pakistan