Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup 2023 eludes India
By Mahadev Desai

Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup 2023 contest was held in the Indian State of Odisha, between Jan.13 to 29, 2923. Odisha hosted this World Cup for the second straight edition. 16 Teams competed. There were 4 Pools A- D.

 
 
The matches were played at newly constructed state-of-art Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium, at Rourkela India, which has about 21,000 spectators’ capacity and at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar.
in 1975, India won the Hockey World Cup against Pak, 2-1, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. India then won Bronze Medal in Tokyo Olympics in 2020 and Silver Medal in Commonwealth Games 2022.
India PM Modi expressed his congratulations on the occasion; "As the 2023 Hockey World Cup commences in Odisha, my best wishes to all the participating teams. May this tournament further strengthen the spirit of sportsmanship and may it further popularize the beautiful game of Hockey. India is proud to be hosting this tournament."

India started well as it won 2-0 against Spain on Jan.13.
In the second match, on 15th Jan., India drew against England 0-0-. Midfielder Hardik Singh had hamstring injury and missed rest of the matches.
In the 3rd match, on Jan. 19, India beat Wales 4-2

In the 4th match, India tied 3-3 against New Zealand in the crossover match on Jan.22, but lost 4-5 in penalty shootout. During the penalty shootout, goalkeeper Sreejesh made two saves and one more during the sudden death phase, but got injured. Pathak replaced him in the next three rounds but India lost as Captain Harmanpreet Singh and Shamsher Singh failed to score the crucial goals. The loss ended India’s hopes of finishing on the podium this time.
In the fifth match, India won 8-0 against Japan in the 9-16 classification list, on Jan.26.
In the sixth and final match, India won 5-2 against S. Africa and finished joint 9th along with and finished joint 9th along with Argentina.
On Sunday, Jan.29, Germany defeated Belgium 5-4 in penalty shootout at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar and won the Hockey World Cup 2023

The men in blue played their hearts out in all the matches but failed in the end. No doubt there will be widespread collective anger and disappointment at India’s poor performance. There is no need to feel disheartened but be positive and upbeat! Team India is sure to reclaim its former glory in hockey.
India Men’s Hockey Chief Coach, Graham Reid, together with Analytical coach Greg Clark and Scientific Advisor Mitchell Pemberton submitted their resignations on Jan.30. Accepting Reid’s resignation along with Greg and Mitchell's, Hockey India President Dr Dilip Tirkey said, "India will always have gratitude towards Graham Reid and his team of support staff who have brought good results to the country, particularly the Olympic Games. As all journeys move to different phases, it is now time for us to move on towards a new approach for our team.” 
Please continue lending your full support to Team India!