LONDON: The World Cup, which starts on Saturday, promises to be a spectacle of unprecedented scale.
For Belgian hockey icon Arthur van Doren, the August 15-30 tournament is not just a quest for global supremacy, but a fascinating tactical battleground where traditional powerhouses and rising forces will collide.
As teams prepare for the quadrennial showpiece, the defensive maestro has his eyes firmly set on competitors that could disrupt the established order, chief among them is the Indian hockey team.
But in a World Cup, in a period where they catch fire for 4-5 games in a row, India will always be a very difficult competitor,” said the Belgian, who is a two-time FIH Player of the Year. The 2018 World Cup winner, when he was also named Player of the Tournament, views the remainder of the field as incredibly tightly packed, with a chasing group consisting of India, Argentina, England, and Germany all capable of mounting a serious title charge. With most of the 20-man roster experiencing a World Cup for the first time, van Doren is eager to see how this newly formed collective handles the immense pressure of a home tournament.
Because we are a little bit of a new team, and that same thing can be said about India, that’s something we struggle with sometimes.
“India is always a team to be very cautious about,” van Doren, 31, told HT. Beyond the Dutch and Australians, van Doren naturally hopes world No.1 Belgium can “creep up into those top four spots”. “It’s a team that can win literally from everybody. One of the most important things is consistency. The Harmanpreet Singh-led India has a well-documented reputation for rising to the occasion in tournaments of consequence. “I give them a lot of chances (at the World Cup). They’ve got a lot of quality, a lot of experience, if you look at their squad. But if you want to win a tournament that goes on for a little bit of a longer period and you want to get a result, consistency is key. This fresh faced Belgian squad, which has already secured a ticket to the Los Angeles Olympics following their Pro League exploits, is brimming with youthful exuberance.
But their journey through the long Pro League season has historically showcased fluctuating periods of form.
