Bhubaneswar: Hockey fever has gripped Bhubaneswar with thousands of people turning up to witness the World Cup match between India and Wales at the iconic Kalinga Stadium on Thursday.
Team India will play Wales in their third match at the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 today
Earlier, Harmanpreet Singh-led side had defeated Spain 2-0 in their first match and then secured a 0-0 draw against England.
Currently, Team India are in the second position in pool D, with England at the top. Against Wales, if India wins with a higher goal difference than England, they would qualify for the quarter-final.
Currently, India has a goal difference of two while that of England is five. As England will play against Spain the same day before India’s match, Harmanpreet Singh-led team will become aware about the minimum. The Wales team is currently ranked 14th in the world while India is at the 5th position in the rankings.
Thousands of hockey fans have started queuing up at the gates hours before the start of the India-Wales match (7pm), with many of them coming from all across Odisha to have a glimpse of the exciting match.
Organisers claimed that the tickets for the matche here were sold out immediately as the online platform was opened. The city and its citizens are soaked in hockey frenzy today.
