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The 14th edition of the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup is all set to commence from 28 November at the iconic Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. With major overhauls in the format, as well as the outlook of the game, this shall be the first World Cup to be played under the modern 4 quarter format.
Apart from the 4 quarter format, this is the first World Cup which shall be played on the blue turf with the yellow ball. Also, this shall be the first world cup that will not have the classic 12 teams divided into two pools, with only top 2 teams progressing into the final four, but gives an equal chance to all the 16 teams to stake their claim on the World Cup.
With 16 teams divided into four pools each, the teams topping each pool shall proceed directly to the quarterfinals. The other two teams of each pool would play against each other in a crossover, where the winning team would proceed to the quarterfinals. This format was extremely successful when launched in the Women's World Cup 2018, where we got an unlikely runner-up in Ireland, who stormed into the finals, surprising teams like India and Spain on the trot.
While eyes are set on every player, without doubt, the star attraction would be the drag flickers, who are known to be the trump card for any team. Able to fling balls into the goals at speeds of over 120-125 km / hr., drag flickers have been the trump card for any hockey team.
Introduced by Australians in the 1980s, this crucial, sometimes even lethal art, has gained immense popularity throughout the world of hockey. With legendary players like Taeke Taekema, Sandeep Singh, Chris Ciriello, Vokkaliga Ramchandra Raghunath displaying their talent on the field, drag flicking.
As the much-awaited FIH World Cup begins for the third time on Indian soil from 28th November, following are some of the drag flickers, whose exploits will be eagerly observed by every hockey lover during the upcoming World Cup:
#5 Varun Kumar
From rags to riches, this Indian defender's journey to fame has been nothing less than inspiring. Hailing from the same village of Mithapur near Jalandhar, Punjab as his idols Pargat Singh and Manpreet Singh, this young defender has risen up the ranks in a very short time frame.
Coming from a family where his father could afford a bare hand to mouth existence as an autorickshaw driver, this drag flicker overcame poverty and other difficulties to rise as a star for his team, when he played an important role in the victory of the Indian team at the Junior Hockey World Cup 2016, their first title in 15 years.
Even though he hasn't found much success initially in terms of a senior level at the Commonwealth Games, Varun is the 'dark horse' that none can dare to underestimate.
#4 Loick Luypaert
Another dark horse to look out for, Loick Luypaert has come into his being as a devious drag flicker ever since the Belgian team surprised one and all by storming into the finals of Rio Olympics 2016, earning their first ever silver medal in field hockey.
Evicted from the final selection for London Olympics 2012, Loick had played an important role in the surprise entry of Belgium into the finals of 2013 EuroHockey Nations Championship. Since then, he has never looked back.
Rio Olympics isn't the only place where Loick has worked wonders. In the subsequent EuroHockey Nations Championship, held in 2017, he once again played an important role in his team's progress to the finals, where they ultimately lost to Netherlands by 2-4. Apart from the charismatic Tom Boon, he is the one player Belgium can completely trust with.
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#3 Blake Govers
When Chris Ciriello quit the Australian team, it looked as if the iconic drag flicker could not be replaced. However, with Blake Govers's mammoth rise, such doubts have been put to rest for once and for all.
From the lows of seeing his team crash out of the Junior Hockey World Cup semifinals, despite having scored a penalty shuffle for his team, to the highs of winning the 2017 World Hockey League finals and the 2018 Champions Trophy, Blake Govers hasn't only seen it all, he himself has participated in it. In fact, Blake Govers is the same guy who denied India their first ever gold medal at the FIH Champions Trophy 2018, ironically the last edition of the tournament as well.
As the World Cup commences from 28 November, a lot of expectations will be made from this young drag flicker, who is rising up the ranks very quickly.
#2 Harmanpreet Singh
![Harmanrpeet Singh [in white]: India's trump card](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2018/11/d1ff4-15432198715869-800.jpg)
The trump card for his team, Harmanpreet Singh is an able successor to the likes of his celebrated senior predecessors like Sandeep Singh, VR Raghunath, Rupinder Pal Singh. He played a crucial role in leading India to a historic final at the FIH Men's Hockey Champions Trophy in 2016.
His drag flicking skills are next only to the likes of stalwarts like Gonzalo Peillat, and he considers ex drag flicker Jugraj Singh as his idol. He has also played a crucial role in the thunderous victory of India at the FIH Junior Hockey World Cup, with 4 crucial goals that assisted India in its dream run to a historic title on home soil after 15 years.
As the World Cup comes near, all eyes will be glued to this drag flicker, who is expected to bring home the coveted podium finish that India is yearning for the last 43 years.
#1 Gonzalo Peillat
Even though his side may have suffered a 0-5 drubbing against India in the very first practice match, that is no true reflection of the wonder boy that this drag flicker is.
Considered to be the best drag flicker as of 2018, Gonzalo Peillat is the same guy who propelled Argentina to a historic podium finish in the 2014 FIH World Cup, when he led his team to win a surprise bronze medal, defeating England by 2-0.
He even played a crucial role in Argentina's historic Olympic gold, when they defeated Belgium by 4-2 to win the top honours. Gonzalo himself scored a goal in the dream final, and emerged as the highest goalscorer overall, with over 11 goals in his kitty.
As such, he shall be the blue-eyed boy for the media and the die-hard hockey lovers when he steps onto the turf to stake a claim for the coveted championship for Argentina.
