Bhubaneswar: Spain and China are the latest teams to arrive in the Temple City amid much fanfare for the upcoming men’s hockey World Cup starting at the Kalinga Stadium starting November 28. While Spain landed Friday afternoon after their flight was delayed for three hours due to fog in Delhi, the Chinese contingent arrived late Thursday night.
Spain have been a regular in all the World Cups till date with their best performance coming in 1971 and 1998 editions wherein they finished runners-up. In the last edition held four years ago in the Netherlands, Spain ended at disappointing eighth.
The 2006 World Cup bronze medallist Spain will begin their campaign against Olympic Champions Argentina November 29 in a Pool A encounter before rounding of their group assignments against France (December 3) and New Zealand (December 6).
“We are happy to be back in Bhubaneswar again. Our preparations have been good and we are focused on our game. The crowd has been electrifying last time we were here and hope get the same support this time too,” Spain head coach Frederic Soyez said upon the team’s arrival at the BPIA.
Meanwhile, this will be the maiden World Cup appearance for the young Chinese side. Ranked 17th in the world order, the side led by Kim Sang-ryul will begin their campaign in Pool B against powerhouse England (November 30) before finishing their group games Ireland (December 4) and Australia (December 7).