Hockey World Cup: Netherlands hockey team reached Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar. With nine days to go for the start of the FIH Odisha Men’s Hockey World Cup, the Netherlands team reached Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. The Netherlands men’s hockey team arrived at the Biju Patnaik International Airport to a warm welcome. The tournament will be held in Odisha from January 13 to 29. The Indian team first reached Odisha on 27 December. The team is currently practicing at the Birsa Munda Stadium in Rourkela. Three-time world champions Netherlands are placed in Pool C along with Malaysia, New Zealand and Chile.

Netherlands will play their first match against Malaysia on January 14 at the Birsa Munda Stadium in Rourkela. Speaking to reporters, Netherlands captain Thierry Brinkmann said, “We are very happy to be here, we have good memories here, played a really good tournament four years ago. Hopefully we will play well in this tournament as well. “The crowd here is very friendly. Some good teams will play in this tournament like Belgium, Australia, India apart from Germany and Argentina. Our team is also strong so looking forward to a good tournament.

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Netherlands coach Jeroen Delmy said, “We are looking forward to playing against India in the final.” and visited the residences. During the inspection, the policemen checked the register, functioning of CCTV cameras, facilities in the rooms as well as security arrangements. A total of 20 matches will be played at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela. It has a seating capacity of over 20,000 spectators. The Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar will host 24 matches with a seating capacity of over 15,000 spectators.