Bhubaneswar, Nov 15 (UNI) With less than two weeks to go for the start of the prestigious Hockey Men's World Cup here from November 28 which will witness 16 top teams battle for supremacy in front of hockey-crazy spectators at the iconic Kalinga Stadium, hosts Indian team are busy making final preparations to their campaign.

The side has exuberance of youth with seven members from the 2016 Junior World Cup winning squad. Combined that with the mastery of players such as PR Sreejesh, Chinglensana Singh, Akashdeep Singh and Manpreet Singh who have registered over 150 International appearances for India, the hosts invoke expectations of a top-three finish, something India has not managed to achieve since 1975.

"There is no doubt we want to win every match in the Pool Stage, earn the three points from each match, and top the Pool to make the quarter-final. That is our first hurdle. It's the World Cup and every team will come with an intention of winning and we do not want to take any team lightly, be it South Africa, Canada or World no 3 Belgium," expressed skipper and midfielder Manpreet Singh who has been in lethal form.

The host nation grouped in Pool C will face off against South Africa on November 28 play Belgium on December 2 followed by their last Pool C match against Canada on December 8. While the Indian team has not faced South Africa in a major tournament in over two years, Manpreet stated that a win in their first match will set them on the right course.
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