Can the Odisha crowd inspire the hosts to win the title?
#1 Australia
Ad
The indomitable Aussies will be the team to beat
Has there been a hockey tournament in conscious memory where the Kookaburras have not begun as the favourites - or joint-favourites at the very least?
Ad
Trending
Australia's Olympic hoodoo seems to defy logic - the world's most feared hockey team has, quite inexplicably, won just a single Olympic gold, which they managed to capture in 2004 when Barry Dancer's side beat the Dutch in the finals at Athens.
The Aussies have, however, won the Champions Trophy 15 times and will be aiming to win their third successive World Cup title when Colin Batch's boys begin their campaign against the Irish.
Ad
Batch himself was part of an indomitable Aussie side that first won the World Cup in 1986 but has been rather cautious when it comes to assessing his team's chances at Bhubaneswar, stressing that the Odisha World Cup will possibly be the most open edition of the competition ever.
The Aussies lost to Germany in the semifinals of the 2014 Champions Trophy just as they did in the semifinals of the London Olympics in 2012.
Ad
At Rio, the Aussies were beaten by Spain and Belgium in the pool stages too but these failures, apart, have had a dominant run over the last eight years or so.
With three Commonwealth Gold medals (2010, 2014, and 2018), two Champions Trophy gold medals (2016, 2018), in addition to the World Cup titles of 2010 and 2014, and the Hockey World League gold in Bhubaneswar last December, Australia will be the team to beat in the Odisha World Cup.
×
Feedback
Why did you not like this content?
Was this article helpful?
Thank You for feedback
About the author
Subhashish Majumdar
Subhashish has been an Indian sports journalist at Sportskeeda since 2017. He primarily covers hockey along with other Indian Sports, and endeavors to bridge the coverage gap between the multitude of Indian sports and cricket via his articles. Subhashish’s interest in Indian sports peaked after watching a few hockey and football matches live during his childhood days, and has also played Hockey, Football, Table Tennis, Badminton at school and college level.
As a journalist, he covered every single Indian hockey match at the 2018 & 2022 Commonwealth Games, 2018 & 2023 Asian Games, 2018 Women's World Cup, 2018 & 2023 Men’s World Cup and the 2021 Olympics. An interview specialist, he has conducted over 100 interviews with the Indian Men's and Women's Hockey team, and has also been part of the UK-based DesiSportsCast Podcast.
Subhashish’s favorite Indian athlete is Vandana Katariya for her relentlessness and never-say-die attitude. For him, India men's hockey team's 7-1 win over Pakistan in 2017 Hockey World League semis on the same day as India men's cricket team's loss to the same opponent in the Champions Trophy final is an iconic moment in Indian Sports history.
When not writing, he likes to spend his free time blogging, singing, jogging, and trekking.