Field hockey News: "India would be one of my favorites for the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup," says two-time Olympic champion Stephan Veen

The former Dutch midfielder won his maiden World Cup at 19 in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1990. The Netherlands won the 1990 World Cup after beating hosts Pakistan 3-1 in the championship match.

The Netherlands enjoyed great success during the '90s, owing to a mixture of quality players, outstanding leadership and tactics.

Stephan Veen took over as the captain of the Dutch national squad after winning the goal medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics. He did excellent work, leading the Netherlands to the title victory at the 1998 World Cup, with a 3-2 win over Spain in front of a home crowd and a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">You mould your own path to glory 💫<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HockeyIndia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HockeyIndia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IndiaKaGame?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IndiaKaGame</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FIHProLeague?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FIHProLeague</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CMO_Odisha?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CMO_Odisha</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/sports_odisha?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sports_odisha</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/IndiaSports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IndiaSports</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Media_SAI?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Media_SAI</a> <a href="https://t.co/jpFHd5wFWr">pic.twitter.com/jpFHd5wFWr</a></p>&mdash; Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheHockeyIndia/status/1595394230821695495?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The former Dutch captain believes that India has grown considerably over the year and is one of his top picks to emerge as the champions at the 2023 World Cup.

Stephan Veen said, "I think India has grown as a team over the last couple of years. They have a home advantage now, they are much more experienced. So, India would be one of my top picks."

A total of 16 teams will compete at the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's Hockey World Cup Bhubaneswar-Rourkela 2023.

The teams have been divided into four pools of four nations each. The top team from each group will directly advance to the quarterfinals, while the second and third-placed squads will lock horns in crossover matches to go to the quarterfinals.

India has been placed in Pool D alongside Spain, Wales and England, while the defending champions Belgium have been placed in Pool B with Germany, South Korea and Japan.

The schedule for India at the upcoming FIH Hockey Men's World Cup is as follows:

 

Date	Team 1	Team 2	Stadium
January 13	India	Spain	Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium, Rourkela
January 15	India	England	Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium, Rourkela
January 19	India	Wales	Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar

Indian Men's Hockey squad leaves for the Tour of Australia.

The Indian men's hockey squad are currently in Adelaide, Australia, for a five-match preparatory series ahead of the 2013 Hockey Men's World Cup.

Harmanpreet Singh-led Indian squad will play five matches against World No. 1 Australia within nine days. The matches will allow the players to achieve their top form ahead of the World Cup and be a good test to check fitness levels.

India will clash with Australia in the first match of the Tour on November 26 in Adelaide, Australia.