“India are strong podium contenders at the World Cup,” says former Indian veteran VR Raghunath ahead of the FIH Hockey World Cup

The FIH Hockey World Cup is knocking on the doors right now as Bhubaneswar and Rourkela are gearing up to host the quadrennial event this coming January. The World Cup will be a big event for the Indian Hockey Team as they will have the home support and also have a huge responsibility of living up to the expectations of the fans being the host of the global event. However former Indian veteran VR Raghunath feels that the men will do well and are one of the primary podium challengers.

He expects the Indian team to finish in the top three with the quality that they have in the roster. There are several experienced players who will look to make a mark in this event while the youngsters will look to play fearless hockey and bring joy to the supporters.

“We are definitely the medal contenders for the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela. We’ll have the advantage of the home ground and the home fans and we should cash in on that for sure,” Raghunath shared in a statement to Hockey India.

This team ended the historic 41-year long drought of an Olympics medal as they won the bronze in Tokyo. It was a moment of ecstasy and pride for the players and the fans all over the country and the team will look to take it as a motivation heading into the World Cup as hosts. Raghunath who already sees India finishing at the podium feels it will be historic for the team if they manage to achieve that feat.

Indian till now have only won three World Cup medals which include the bronze medal at the inaugural edition back in 1971 followed by a silver medal in 1973 and finally gold medal in 1975 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“Recently, we got a medal in Tokyo Olympics as well and it would be fantastic to finish this tournament (World Cup) with a medal also. And if they can do that it will be a really memorable moment for the players,” Raghunath said.

Apart from India, Raghunath feels Australia and reigning champions Belgium as potential World Cup winning candidates. He picks them as the other two teams in the podium and looking at all the aspects we got to say if was a fair pick as both the teams have that killer instinct in them to win tournaments.

“I feel Belgium and Australia will be two teams who are very difficult to defeat. “I wish the Indian men’s hockey team all the best for the World Cup and hopefully we can all celebrate a podium finish at the end,” Raghunath concluded.

The FIH Hockey World Cup will start 13th January and run till 29th January with Bhubaneswar and Rourkela hosting the event. India are in Pool D alongwith debutants Wales, England and Spain.