NEW DELHI: If not at boiling point yet, the nervousness around the Men's Hockey World Cup is definitely simmering. Compared to 2018, the responsibility has risen, even if the target remains the same in 2023. India's last World Cup win is now under a pile of 47 years. Another miss, and the nation's once glory sport will cross five decades without even a semifinal appearance since the 1975 edition. But to look at it in a positive way, it will be the first time since 1982 that India will be playing a World Cup as a medallist from the last Olympics.
Coach Graham Reid had a similar task on hand in July-August last year. It had been 41 years since India's last Olympic medal. That wait ended with a bronze in Tokyo. From January 13 to 29 next year, Reid will be tasked with a similar objective on the game's second biggest stage -- the World Cup. And it's almost undebatable that India's performance at the World Cup will be compared to the Olympic bronze.
