
Bhubaneswar, India – The ray of hope that the Indian men’s field hockey team saw during the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo when it defeated Germany on the way to winning a bronze medal was short-lived.
The enthusiasm and excitement with which India, the host nation, entered the FIH Hockey World Cup this year was extinguished on January 22 with a 5-4 defeat against New Zealand. India, ranked sixth in the world, put in a below-average show and finished ninth overall, tied with Argentina.