Former Indian Hockey Team captain Zafar Iqbal feels it won’t be simple for India to reclaim the men’s tourney when 47 years. Because the hosts are clubbed in an exceedingly robust pool aboard Spain, England, and Wales. The mega event is going to happen in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela from January 13 to 29. (Read Also: India is the hot favorite for the upcoming Hockey World Cup Championship)
India’s sole gold in the World Cup came at the 1975 national capital edition underneath Ajit Pal Singh’s captaincy. Zafar said it might be an excellent accomplishment if the hosts manage to end on the rostrum after the bronze at the Tokyo Olympics. Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, India, Argentina, Germany, New Zealand, England, France, Korea, Malaysia, Spain, South Africa, Japan, Chile, and Wales are the 16 groups, that are playing for the title.
India is the high-ranked team in Pool D at the fifth spot, sooner than world no.6 England, no.8 Spain, and no.15 Wales. “At world-level competitions, you ne’er understand who can be in top form. many teams are terribly robust, reminiscent of Belgium, Netherlands, Australia, England, Spain, and India,” Zafar explained in an exceedingly Hockey India release.
“We will have robust matches within the cluster stages. We’ve got Spain, England, and Wales, and every one is equally strong in their own place. I’m positive if India ends on the podium, it’ll be an excellent achievement.
“We have many brave players within the team. They continuously place in their best and we have the heroes of the Tokyo Olympic Games. So, we hope they’ll repeat the success once again”
Zafar Iqbal
Zafar, a member of India’s 1980 capital of the Russian Federation Olympics gold medal-winning side. In his view, The continuing soccer cup is an example that any team can cause upsets in an exceedingly high-ticket sporting event.
“Former world champions Spain, FRG and Brazil have all been eliminated from the football World Cup. You never understand that team can get a convert or upset from any low-ranked team in such tournaments. it’s continuously unpredictable and therefore the Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 is unpredictable also.” he stated.
Zafar Iqbal, who also competed in the 1982 men’s World Cup in Mumbai, said AstroTurf has modified the sport fully and modern hockey is all regarding power.
“During our time, hockey was on grass. However, AstroTurf started replacing grass in most corners of the globe because the 80’s came around. Even if the 1982 World Cup was played on grass at home, we were unable to perform (at) our best, and were unable to qualify for the semi-finals,” he said.
