The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has announced the pools and schedule for the Odisha Men’s Hockey World League Final, Bhubaneswar 2017.
Seven teams who qualified through the Hockey World League Semi-Finals plus hosts India will go head to head to be crowned champions of season 3, which started back in April 2016.
Pool A is comprised of Olympic champions Argentina, European champions Netherlands, Olympic silver medallists Belgium and Spain.
Reigning World Cup and World League champions Australia will begin their title defence in Pool B as they take on Germany, hosts India and England.
This end of year showpiece is set to send sports fan’s pulses racing with a number of hugely exciting matches schedule for the event taking place at the Kalinga Stadium between 1-10 December 2017.
European rivals Germany and England get the event off to a flier at 16:45 (India Standard Time – UTC +5.30) before World League season 2 champions Australia go up against hosts India, who will be looking for a large home crowd to inspire them to success, at 19:30.
In what is being billed as ‘Super Saturday’, the 2nd of December is set to be a thriller with some eagerly anticipated matchups scheduled.
A rerun of the 2016 Olympic gold medal match between Argentina and Belgium gets the day underway at 12:00 in a match that is bound to rekindle some fond memories from that special night in Rio just over a year ago.
India against England (19:30) will round the day off in what will be one of the most anticipated matches for home fans as they take on one of their oldest rivals.
At least two matches per day have been scheduled starting at either 17:15 or 17:30 (except December 1 at 16:45) and 19:30, with Saturday 2 December the only day with four matches.
The Pool stages will run from 1-5 December and will be followed by the Quarter-Finals on 6-7 December. Following that classification matches and Semi-Finals will take place over the next two days before the bronze medal match at 17:15 and the Final at 19:30 on Sunday 10 December.
To see the full schedule, visit the official event website on FIH.ch.
Following confirmation of the schedule, ticket sales for the event are expected to commence over the next few days. To be first to find out about their launch, visit the official website and follow FIH
Fast-paced and action-packed, this is the tournament that gives hockey fans the chance to see their team go all the way to the World Cup and Olympics.
Composed of four rounds and played over two years, the Hockey World League shines a spotlight on the sport around the world. Even the smallest hockey-playing nations have the opportunity to write their own chapter in hockey’s history books.
In addition to battling for the title, vital FIH Hero World Ranking points will also be on offer which could prove crucial in terms of qualification for future events.
To keep up to date with all the latest news from the Finals – search the hashtag #HWL2017.
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