FIH Men's Hockey World Cup 2023 draws announced; India placed alongside England, Wales and Spain in Pool D

India is all set to host the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup 2023, scheduled to run between January 13 and 29. The matches will be held across two venues in Odisha – the Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar and the new Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela.

The Indian men’s hockey team will look for a podium finish when it hosts the 2023 FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup. This will be the second consecutive World Cup to be held in India after 2018.

Belgium are the defending champions, having won the 2018 edition of the World Cup in Bhubaneswar, with the Netherlands finishing second and Australia settling for a third-place finish.

India bowed out in the quarter-finals in 2018 edition, finishing sixth in the points table with two wins, one draw and a loss.

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Indian Men's Hockey Team Medals in the World Cup:

India settled for the bronze medal in the 1971 edition of the tournament while in 1973, they lost to the Netherlands to clinch the silver.

India went on to win the World Cup in 1975, beating Pakistan 2-1 in the final in which Major Dhyan Chand's son, Ashok Kumar, scored the winning goal.

Since then, though, the Indian men's hockey team has failed to make it to the semi-finals of the World Cup.

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FIH Men’s World Cup 2023: Pools

The draw for FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup was announced, where 16 participating nations will be in the fray for the title, including top nations such as India, Japan, England and top-ranked Australia.

The Indian men's hockey team, ranked fifth in the world, secured a direct qualification as the host nation. The Men in Blue are grouped alongside England and Spain along with Wales in Pool D.

Here's the list:

Pool A: Australia, Argentina, France, South Africa

Pool B: Belgium, Germany, Korea, Japan

Pool C: Netherlands, New Zealand, Malaysia, Chile

Pool D: India, England, Spain, Wales

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