The 2023 FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup kicks off on Friday with a match between Argentina and South Africa at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar. The curtain raiser starts at 1PM IST. Meanwhile, hosts India will play their first match against Spain on the same day at 7pm IST. The match will take place at Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium, Rourkela, the other venue for the showpiece. A total of 16 teams are participating in the Hockey World Cup. They are divided into four groups – Pool A, Pool B, Pool C and Pool D – each with four teams. India is in Group D alongside England, Spain and Wales. The final match of the tournament will take place on January 29.
It is worth noting that India is hosting the tournament for the second consecutive edition. It hosted the 2018 World Cup held in Bhubaneswar. During this edition, Belgium defeated the Netherlands in the final while Australia took home the bronze.
What is the format?
Each team plays three matches in its group and the top player gets direct access to the quarter finals. Meanwhile, the second and third teams from all four pools will face each other in the crossovers from which the remaining four teams will enter the quarter-finals.
Here’s the full schedule:
Group Stage –
January 13:
Match 1 – Argentina vs South Africa – 1pm IST – Bhubaneswar
Match 2 – Australia vs France – 3pm IST – Bhubaneswar
Match 3 – England vs Wales – 5pm IST – Rourkela
Match 4 – India vs Spain – 7pm IST – Rourkela
January 14:
Match 5 – New Zealand vs Chile – 1pm IST – Rourkela
Match 6 – Netherlands vs Malaysia – 3pm IST – Rourkela
Match 7 – Belgium vs Korea – 5pm IST – Bhubaneswar
Match 8 – Germany vs Japan – 7pm IST – Bhubaneswar
January 15:
Match 9 – Spain vs Wales – 5pm IST – Rourkela
Match 10 – England vs India – 7pm IST – Rourkela
January 16:
Match 11 – Malaysia vs Chile – 1pm IST – Rourkela
Match 12 – New Zealand vs Netherlands – 3pm IST – Rourkela
Match 13 – France vs South Africa – 5pm IST – Bhubaneswar
Match 14 – Argentina vs Australia – 7pm IST – Bhubaneswar
January 17th:
Match 15 – Korea vs Japan – 5pm IST – Bhubaneswar
Match 16 – Germany vs Belgium – 19:00 IST – Bhubaneswar
January 19:
Match 17 – Malaysia vs New Zealand – 13:00 IST – Bhubaneswar
Match 18 – Netherlands vs Chile – 3pm IST – Bhubaneswar
Match 19 – Spain vs England – 5pm IST – Bhubaneswar
Match 20 – India vs Wales – 19:00 IST – Bhubaneswar
January 20:
Match 21 – Australia vs South Africa – 13:00 IST – Rourkela
Match 22 – France vs Argentina – 3pm IST – Rourkela
Match 23 – Belgium vs Japan – 5pm IST – Rourkela
Match 24 – Korea vs Germany – 7pm IST – Rourkela
crossovers –
January 22:
Match 25 – 2nd Pool C vs 3rd Pool D – 4:30pm IST – Bhubaneswar
Match 26 – 2nd Pool D vs 3rd Pool C – 7pm IST – Bhubaneswar
January 23:
Match 27 – 2nd Pool A vs 3rd Pool B – 4:30pm IST – Bhubaneswar
Match 28 – 2nd Pool B vs 3rd Pool A – 7pm IST – Bhubaneswar
Quarter Finals –
January 24:
Match 29 – 1st Pool A vs Winner 25 – 4:30pm IST – Bhubaneswar
Match 30 – 1st Pool B vs Winner 26 – 19:00 IST – Bhubaneswar
January 25:
Match 31 – 1st Pool C vs Winner 27 – 4:30pm IST – Bhubaneswar
Match 32 – 1st Pool D vs Winner 28 – Jan 25 – 7pm IST – Bhubaneswar
Semi-finals –
January 27:
Match 37 – Winner 29 vs Winner 32 – 4:30 PM IST – Bhubaneswar
Match 38 – Winner 30 vs Winner 31 – 19:00 IST – Bhubaneswar
Match for 3rd place –
January 29: Match 43 – Loser 37 vs Loser 38 – 4:30 PM IST – Bhubaneswar
Last –
January 29: Match 44 – Winner 37 vs Winner 38 – 19:00 IST – Bhubaneswar
9-16 Classification –
January 26:
Match 33 – 4th Pool A vs Loser 25 – 11:30am IST – Rourkela
Match 34 – 4th Pool B vs Loser 26 – 14:00 IST – Rourkela
Match 35 – 4th Pool C vs Loser 27 – 4:30pm IST – Rourkela
Match 36 – 4th Pool D vs Loser 28 – 7pm IST – Rourkela
13-16 Classification –
January 28:
Match 39 – Loser 33 vs Loser 34 – 11:30am – Rourkela
Match 40 – Loser 35 vs Loser 36 – 2pm IST – Rourkela
Match 41 – Winner 33 vs Winner 34 – 4:30pm IST – Rourkela
Match 42 – Winner 35 vs Winner 36 – 7pm IST – Rourkela
Featured video of the day
Sudarsan Pattnaik’s sand installation as the world hockey championship kicks off tonight
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