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Sixteen teams will battle it out for the coveted gold medal as the 2023 FIH Hockey World cup gets underway in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela on Friday, January 13.
Apart from Pakistan, who haven't qualified this time, only five teams - the Netherlands, Australia, Germany, Belgium and India - have been fortunate enough to have laid their hands on the prestigious World Cup trophy over the years.
While all the former champions, who are competing in the 2023 edition are capable of going the distance, three teams are most likely to win the competition given various factors.
Let's take a look at the three sides who will fancy their chances of winning the gold medal at the 2023 Hockey World Cup.
#3 India (Hockey World Cup 2018, losing quarter-finalists)
The Indians won a direct ticket to the quarter-finals back in 2018 ahead of Belgium, who were forced to play crossovers.
Harendra Singh's team held the eventual champions to a 2-2 draw in the group stages and matched the mighty Dutch in every department until a late goal sealed their fate in the quarter-finals of Odisha 2018.
Since then, Graham Reid's boys have gone on to win a historic Olympic bronze but more importantly have had a plethora of exciting new talent coming through the ranks.
While Abhishek and Sukhjeet Singh have the speed and artistry to trouble the opposition defense, India's ace short corner specialist Harmanpreet Singh has hit a purple patch in recent times thus bestowing a gifted side with an extra edge.
The Odisha crowd, who were eerily silenced by Mink van der Weeden's winning goal in the 2018 quarter-finals, will no doubt seek to be at their ebullient best when the home takes the field, which can offset the carefully laid plans of many an outfit.
While recent heavy losses against the Australians at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games have exposed chinks in the Indian armor, given a distinct home advantage, India have a fair chance of winning a historic gold with a bit of luck.
#2 Belgium (Hockey World Cup 2018 gold-medalist)
It would be impossible not to include the Olympic gold medalist and World Cup defending champion in the list of favorites ahead of the Hockey World Cup.
Despite the fact that Shane McLeod, who steered the Red Lions to dizzying heights over the past decade, is no longer in the camp, there are an array of stars with a mind-boggling wealth of experience who may not play another World Cup.
Cedric Charlier, Tom Boon, Felix Denayer, Simon Gougnard, and John-John Dohmen seem to be getting better with age, with every passing year defying critics who predicted the fall of a side where not enough new talent was seeping in.
While Belgium have a series of below-par performances to show in the recent past, the champion side have often shown that they possess a rare ability to change gears when it matters most.
The Red Lions stop short of being absolute favorites for the Hockey World Cup but do have the quality to defend their gold medal given their immense big-match expertise.
#1 Australia (Hockey World Cup 2018, bronze medalist)
The Aussies had everything going for them during Odisha 2018 but didn't expected Max Caldas' Dutch side to come at them with the level of intensity that they did in the pulsating semi-final.
The Netherlands played a fearless brand of hockey, throwing caution to the winds, offsetting Colin Batch's plans and robbing the Kookaburras of a possible gold medal.
The fact that the Australians failed to reign supreme at the Tokyo Olympics as well is reason enough to assume that one of the best hockey teams in the world have the hunger to strike gold now more than at any time in the past.
Blake Govers' goalscoring prowess in combination with the midfield skills of Aran Zalewski and Eddie Ockenden renders it tough for any team to outsmart the Kookaburras on the pitch.
The formidable list of crafty players like Tim Brand, Lachlan Sharp, Tom Craig, Tom Wickham and Jake Whetton who can switch positions with ridiculous ease makes the Australians the team to beat during Odisha 2018.
The team's recent Commonwealth Games campaign merely underlined the fact that the Australians are best placed to win their fourth gold medal at the 2023 Hockey World Cup in India.
