Men’s Hockey World Day 1 Live Updates: India to don new jersey in this ongoing Hockey World Cup 2023

The 20,000-seat Birsa Munda Stadium in Rourkela is currently being prepared for India’s inaugural match against Spain.

The 18-man team is ready for the big game and will aim to start the contest with a victory.

Lucky to be receiving my #HWC2023 jersey from the talented and young star @hardikrai16! Joke aside we are ready and all set for our campaign starting on the 13th here in #Rourkela – are you?

Send in your support and cheers for #TeamIndia! #IndiaKaGame #StarsBecomeLegends pic.twitter.com/wWKGRAvwZq

— Manpreet Singh (@manpreetpawar07) January 12, 2023

The current Hockey World Cup will feature a fresh look for the national squad.

India is placed in a challenging group with countries like England, Spain, and Wales.

The first match of the competition is evenly matched because these two have faced off in six world cup games, with Spain winning three and India winning two, with one game ending in a draw.

My best wishes to our Indian men's hockey team for the World Cup. Go and enjoy yourself, we all are backing you. Good luck. 🇮🇳💪

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) January 13, 2023

The FIH Pro League saw one victory apiece for Spain and India.

The 2023 Men’s Hockey World Cup will follow a league and cross-over format, with the top teams from each pool moving on to the next round.

After 45 years, India is predicted to win the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup since Ajit Pal Singh led the national team to victory only once, in 1975.

Recently, Pr. Sreejesh discussed his experience competing in his fourth world cup, an accomplishment that is quite uncommon in the world of sports.

Good luck to our men’s hockey team for the World Cup 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/XpZ3sBbjVX

— Shreyas Iyer (@ShreyasIyer15) January 13, 2023

He made his world cup debut in 2010 against Pakistan and was named to the starting lineup as Adrian Dsouza’s backup goalie.

Sreejesh, who will likely play in his final World Cup, will be expected to perform extraordinarily well for the national team.

It will be intriguing to see who starts the opening game of X1—Krishna Bahadur Pathak or Pr Sreejesh.