Now Reading: New Hockey World Cup format tests India ahead of Asian Games
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New Hockey World Cup format tests India ahead of Asian Games
The Indian men’s and women’s hockey teams face a crucial two months with the World Cup (August 15-30) followed by the Asian Games (September 19-October 4). Chief coach Craig Fulton has called…
The Story in Brief
The Indian men’s and women’s hockey teams face a crucial two months with the World Cup (August 15-30) followed by the Asian Games (September 19-October 4). Chief coach Craig Fulton has called this the most important period before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The World Cup has a new format that eliminates the quarterfinal stage, replacing it with a second round-robin. Fulton says starting well in the pool is critical because points from head-to-head matches carry forward. The Indian men, grouped with England, Pakistan and Wales, have not won a World Cup medal since 1975. The women face China and England in their pool. Both teams will wear saffron jerseys instead of the traditional blue for better visibility against the blue playing surface. Hockey India made the change for technical reasons, but former players have criticised the move.
The Indian Opinion
The talking heads framing the jersey colour change as a betrayal of tradition are missing the point. A team that last won a World Cup medal in 1975 has bigger problems than whether its shirt is blue or saffron. The real test is whether the new round-robin format, which kills the quarterfinal stage, favours experienced teams and punishes slow starters like India often are. Watch how India handles England in the pool phase, that result will tell us if a medal is actually possible, or if we are again overhyping a team that cannot get past the last eight.
Sources (2): newindianexpress.com, hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
