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If online ticket sales are anything to go by, the Odisha World Cup has really caught the imagination of Indian hockey fans.
Online tickets for the pool matches, crossovers, and quarterfinals went on sale on May 28 while those for the semifinals, bronze-medal match, and the big final were on offer from September 14.
The fourteenth edition of the Men's World Cup will begin with a gala opening ceremony on November 27 while the opening match of the tournament will be played between Olympic silver-medalists Belgium and Canada the very next day.
The second match of the opening day will be the real highlight as far as the local fans are concerned, as hosts India will be up against South Africa.
Online tickets for the first day's action featuring the teams from Pool C have been sold out and those wishing to witness the proceedings may now have to do so on their television sets or follow the live stream.
An even bigger encounter is scheduled the following Sunday when the Indians, ranked fifth as per the FIH world rankings, take on Belgium ranked third, in a match that promises to be an absolute thriller.
As per the availability status on Ticketgenie, the ticketing portal for the World Cup, tickets for the India-Belgium encounter, which is to be played on December 2 have been sold out. The third and final day of Pool C action takes place on Saturday, December 8 and tickets for India's encounter against Canada are no longer available online.
The drama and suspense will reach its peak on the final two days of the competition, and online tickets for the semifinals and finals to be played on December 15 and 16, respectively, have also been snapped up.
Hockey lovers need not be too disappointed, though, as tickets for pool matches not involving the hosts are currently available on www.ticketgenie.in, and priced between Rs. 100 and Rs. 200. Anticipating high demand, sales have been restricted to two tickets per head.
As per Hockey India, tickets are also available at counters in Bhubaneswar.
