India looking for second Hockey World Cup title, Team India has played in the tournament most times

The Hockey World Cup will be hosted by India from January 13 to 29 for the fourth time. The matches of the 15th edition of the World Cup will be played in Rourkela and Bhubaneswar in Odisha. The Indian team, which has played the most 14 World Cups, is looking for its second title in 48 years. After winning bronze at the Tokyo Olympics and finishing third in the 2021-22 FIH Pro Hockey League, hopes have been raised that the Indian team can win a medal at the World Cup this time.

India last won the world title in 1975 by defeating Pakistan 2-1 with goals from Surjit Singh Randhawa and Ashok Kumar. India won bronze in 1971 and silver in 1973. India holds the record for playing and hosting the most World Cups. After India, Spain has played the World Cup 13 times.

Team unable to progress beyond quarter finals
The Indian team, led by star dragflicker Harmanpreet Singh, can break the barrier of not making it past the quarter-finals this time. After winning the 1975 World Cup, India could not even reach the semi-finals. After this, in 1982 and 1994, India’s best performance was by staying at the fifth position. The last time India finished sixth in the 2018 World Cup held in Bhubaneswar.

Indian players converting penalty corners into goals
The Indian team needs to work on the lack of scoring goals in the last minute. Although the Indian team may have lost 1-4 in the recent five-match Test series in Australia, but they also scored goals in the last minute. Especially the penalty corner conversion. Due to this, India seems to have more hope of winning a medal this time.