Bhubaneswar: Bhubaneswar is set to host the the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2021 which is scheduled to begin on 24 November. The tournament will witness the 16 participating teams prepare to battle it out for the title. India, the defending champion, is in Group B, along with Canada, France, and Poland, who all arrived in Bhubaneswar last week to compete for the title.
As they take centre stage on their home soil, the India Colts, led by skipper Vivek Sagar Prasad, will be trying to retain the prestigious championship.
“Our team became the Champions in 2016 and now our team’s aim is to continue to perform in a similar manner,” said Vivek, who was part of India’s historic Bronze-medal winning performance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
“While we did not have overseas competition, the teams played some practice games against the senior team in Bhubaneswar, which were quite valuable. Since arriving in Bhubaneswar, we have been getting used to the stadium. The Kalinga Hockey Stadium is truly iconic. It’s good that we are getting to train here before we start,” India Men Chief Coach Graham Reid added on the team’s preparations.
In Pool A, European heavyweights Belgium will face off against Malaysia, Chile and South Africa.
“India will be, of course, a force to watch playing at home with the qualities they have,” Belgium Coach Jeroen Baart said on arrival.
Malaysian Head Coach Wallace Tan expressed his excitement at the idea of playing in the historic Kalinga Stadium, stating that, “Our team is very excited to play at the Kalinga Stadium as it is a very big and respected stadium. Many big tournaments have been held here, and many legends have played here, so it will be an honour to play here.”
“In our group, we have Malaysia, Belgium and Chile. I would think Belgium would be our toughest opponent. They are previous finalists, so we know it will be a difficult game. But we also think all the games will be difficult,” said South Africa Head Coach Sihle Ntuli.
Chile Captain Nicolás Abujatum said, “We were a part of the Pan-American Championship, which was a big part of our preparations. We are excited to play at Kalinga Stadium, as most of us have not played in such a great stadium.”
Belgium will face South Africa in the first game of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Bhubaneswar 2021 on November 24. India will kick up their campaign against France at 20.00 IST on the same day.
