“We are focus on our goal,” says captain Harmanpreet Singh and vice-captain Amit Rohidas as they gear up for the FIH Hockey World Cup

Less than 10 days left for the FIH Hockey Pro League to start and the Indian team is brimming with excitement and anticipation to play the big event in front of their home fans. There are lofty expectations from the Indian team as they ended a 41-year-old drought at the Olympics by winning the bronze medal and then backed it up with a silver at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Hence anything less than a podium finish will be a major disappointment for the Men in Blue and their fans.

The city of Rourkela and Bhubaneswar has been soaked in excitement as the fans do not want to leave any stone unturned in celebrating this massive occasion of watching the FIH Hockey World cup at home. Hence captain Harmanpreet Singh also shared the same story of fans cheering for the team when they were entering the hockey facility at Rourkela.

“There is anticipation and excitement in equal measure,” expressed Harmanpreet. “As the team bus entered the Rourkela city and drove closer to the hockey facility, there were thousands of fans who thronged the streets with tricolor flags and cheered for us as they welcomed us into their home town. We were simply speechless by the gesture, and it was then that we actually got a sense of how much hockey means to the people of this region,” Harmanpreet said in excitement and in awe.

He shared how players like Nilam and Amit Rohidas has shared the excitement and passion people in Odisha have for hockey but now on their arrival he got to witness it first hand and was simply mesmerized by the fans and their madness for the sport. “Until we arrived here, we had only heard about the passion and love people have for hockey here through our teammates Nilam and Amit but it was only after we witnessed the reception we received on our arrival, did we realise that this World Cup experience will be like no other,” the skipper added.

Amit Rohidas also spoke about the excitement and passion present in the Odisha people for hockey and Rourkela will bring in a different flavour to the grandeur. “There is already a festive atmosphere here in Rourkela and Bhubaneswar. It’s been almost a week since we arrived here and the energy is incredible. We love the peppy World Cup anthem that was launched recently, a country-wide Trophy Tour has got everyone talking about the event and here in Odisha itself, there are so many celebratory events planned around the World Cup that everyone travelling for this event have a chance to witness more than just hockey,” the vice captain shared.

He also spoke about the team’s collective goal and how that remains non negotiable despite all the glitz and glamour. The players know that they have an added pressure to live up to the fans expectation and also allow them to leave the tournament with happy memories.

“Emotions and excitement aside, we are focused on our goal. This is probably the best chance for us to stand on the podium and surely the expectations have gone up after we won a medal at the Olympic Games,” Rohidas concluded.

India are in Pool D alongwith teams like Wales, England and Spain. They will start their campaign against Spain on 13th January at the newly built Birsa Munda Stadium. The Men in blue will hope to start on a positive note and carry that momentum forward in future games.