The craze of women’s hockey will be fueled when the top 16 teams of the world fight for the prestigious FIH. World Cup crown with record eight-time winners Netherlands eyeing a hat-trick of titles India Aim for the first.
Defending champions Netherlands, who will co-host the tournament with Spain from 1 to 17 July, are the most dominant organization in women’s hockey, having won the world title eight times, being runners-up on four occasions.
Dutch women also have four Olympic gold, two silver and three bronze, making them favorites for title defense.
Argentina, Australia and Germany are in second place after winning the tournament twice.
The tournament, however, would begin with a Pool C game between hosts Spain and Canada in Pool C, whose best performance was a second-place finish at the 1983 edition in Kuala Lumpur.
The 16 teams in the tournament are divided into four pools of four teams each. The top four teams from each pool will qualify directly for the quarterfinals, while the second and third placed teams will participate in a crossover.
In the crossover, the second team from Pool A will play Pool D’s third and vice versa, while the other team from Pool B will play Pool C’s third and vice versa for the remaining four quarterfinal spots.
Pool A consists of Germany, Chile, last edition’s runners-up Ireland and the Netherlands, Pool B consists of India, China, England and New Zealand. Pool C consists of Argentina, Canada, Korea and Spain and Pool D is made up of Australia, Belgium, Japan and South Africa.
Going into the tournament, the Netherlands will be full of confidence after winning the FIH Pro League, where Belgium finished second and India finished a reliable third in their first season.
Even though India’s best performance in the tournament was a fourth-place finish in the inaugural edition in 1974, they will be no pushovers in this edition of the event as they rise after securing a historic fourth at last year’s Tokyo Olympics.
The Indian women’s team finished their best sixth in the world rankings in May this year and gave some of the world’s top teams a run for their money in the FIH Pro League to finish on the podium ahead of sides like Argentina, Australia and England. . ,
And the Jeanneke Shopman-coached Indian side would be dreaming of entering the record books by finishing in the top four in this tournament, which is certainly not impossible. India will start their campaign against England on Sunday.
While the Netherlands leg of the tournament will be hosted by Amstelveen, the semi-finals and final of the tournament are to be played here.
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