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For just under three weeks starting November 28th, Odisha's capital will be the cynosure of the hockey world, as the prestigious Men's World Cup returns to India - the spiritual home of hockey, for the second time in eight years.
The twelfth edition of the tournament was held in New Delhi, in 2010 and featured 12 teams, as did the 2014 edition which took place in The Hague, Netherlands.
In fact, a 12-team World Cup has been the norm with a few exceptions (ten teams in 1971, fourteen in 1978, and sixteen in 2002.)
The format of the forthcoming World Cup at Bhubaneswar has sixteen teams divided into four pools, unlike the 2002 Kuala Lumpur edition, when just as many teams were divided into two pools, with the Germans beating Australia to claim their maiden title.
The Kookaburras lost to Germany, yet again, in the final of the 2006 edition but turned the tables on their European rivals in 2010 to claim gold in Delhi. Under the tutelage of Ric Charlesworth, the Aussies defended their title successfully thrashing hosts, the Netherlands by a 6-1 margin four years ago and will start as favourites at Bhubaneswar.
The Australians have been a force to reckon with over the years, as have the Dutch, but neither can boast of being the most accomplished side in the history of the competition.
The great Shahbaz Ahmed helped his country win gold in 1994 making Pakistan the most successful World Cup side ever with four titles to their credit, having previously won the inaugural edition in 1971, followed by two back-to-back wins in 1978 and 1982.
The Pakistanis also have two silver medals to their credit. As hosts in 1990, Pakistan lost to the Dutch in the title clash at Lahore, while back in 1975, Ashok Kumar (son of the legendary Dhyan Chand) scored the winner, in the final, to help India win their first and only World Cup gold at Kuala Lumpur.
After having won bronze in 1971, and silver in the second edition in 1973, India scaled the summit at Kuala Lumpur, but following their sole title triumph, experienced a rapid and disastrous freefall, and have failed to make it to the semi-finals of the World Cup ever since.
Post the Buenos Aires edition of 1978, the tournament was held once every four years and India managed to end up fifth at home, in Bombay in 1982, which was followed by an ignominious wooden spoon at London in 1986.
The downtrend continued unabated with a fifth-place finish at Sydney in 1994 being the only saving grace amidst a series of disappointing campaigns.
If history, remote or recent is any indication, coach Harendra Singh's boys have a herculean task ahead of them for the simple reason that their predecessors have not managed to reach within striking distance of the podium, ending up in the bottom half, more often than not, as far as the final standings are concerned.
India clinched the tenth spot (out of sixteen teams) in 2002, and nosedived to the eleventh spot in 2006, narrowly avoiding a last-place finish by beating South Africa in the classification crossovers.
A home advantage in 2010, stemmed the tide to an extent as the hosts finished eighth in New Delhi but managed just one win in five pool matches, just as they did four years ago.
Eight members of the squad which finished ninth in 2014 ((Sreejesh, Birendra, Kothajit, Manpreet, Chinglensana, Akashdeep, Mandeep, and Lalit) will be in action at Bhubaneswar.
Can India make history, at home, this time around?
Chris Ciriello, who scored a PC hattrick, for Australia, in the 2014 World Cup final is now in the Indian camp as Analytical Coach. Ciriello, along with Head Coach, Harendra Singh helped the sixth-ranked Indians make it to the final of the elite Champions Trophy in June, ahead of Argentina, Belgium, and Holland - all of whom were (and still are) ranked higher up.
Sreejesh and co. very nearly got the better of World Champions Australia in a humdinger of a final, going down in the shootout, after a creditable showing in the tough round-robin pool phase, and subsequently upstaged the Germans to rise to the fifth position in the world rankings.
The Indian coach declared, after the Champions Trophy, that his team would be up on the podium, at Bhubaneswar, on December 16 - a result which would propel millions of Indian hockey fans into a state of unbridled ecstasy.
Whether or not Harendra's desire finds fruition remains to be seen, but history beckons for the host nation, as this team, arguably, has what it takes to finish higher than any other Indian side in the last four decades, in a tournament which promises to be an absolute classic.
Here is how you can catch the action:
Event: FIH Men's Hockey World Cup, 2018
Venue: Bhubaneswar, India
Dates: November 28 to December 16
Telecast:
India: Star Sports, Star Sports HD
UK: BT Sport
Australia: Fox Sports
Spain: Eurosport
Live Streaming: Hotstar
Live Updates: Sportskeeda
