The 14th edition of FIH Women's World Cup will be played between July 21 and August 5 in London, England.
For the first time since 2002, 16 teams will be participating in the quadrennial tournament and they have been drawn into four groups.
Groups and teams
- Pool A: China, Italy, Korea, Netherlands
- Pool B: England, India, Ireland, USA
- Pool C: Argentina, Germany, South Africa, Spain
- Pool D: Australia, Belgium, Japan, New Zealand
How to watch India hockey matches live on TV, online
Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 2 HD will provide live television coverage of the hockey matches in India. The live stream will be available on Hotstar and Jio TV.
Tournament format
Teams finishing on top of their respective pools will earn a direct entry to the quarter-final.
The second-placed team and the third-placed team from their neighboring group will feature in four playoffs, which will decide the last four quarter-finalists.
What to expect from India
India have been handed a relatively tougher draw as they find themselves alongside reigning Olympic champions England, seventh-ranked USA and lower-ranked Ireland.
The 10th-ranked Indian side qualified for the World Cup for the first time in eight years and Sjoerd Marijne's girls would be hoping to come up with a good show and take confidence from their Asia Cup win last year.
Deepika, the seasoned defender of the Indian Eves talks about the factors that are keeping the members of the team motivated ahead of their major challenges at the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018 and the 18th Asian Games 2018. #IndiaKaGame pic.twitter.com/OuxRDViRW2
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) July 19, 2018
Only Rani Rampal and defender Deepika have had the experience of previously having played in a World Cup. However, the skipper is confident that her experienced team will be able to do well in England.
"It is a plus point for us that this team barring only three or four players have been playing together for over two years now and have had good international exposure with many of them having more than 100 or 150 plus International Caps for India," Rani had told before India's departure to London on Sunday.
Having not made it to the last-four since 1974, Marinje has a tough job ahead. However, the recently-concluded Spain tour where India drew a five-Test series 2-2 should give the team confidence.
India begin their campaign against England on Saturday and a good start will be essential for the Asian champions.
Pool B, India schedule: Hockey Women's World Cup
- England vs India: July 21 at 2 pm BST and 6:30 pm IST
- United States vs Ireland: July 21 at 6 pm BST and 10:30 pm IST
- United States vs England: July 25 at 8 pm BST and 12:30 am IST (July 26)
- India vs Ireland: July 26 at 2 pm BST and 6:30 pm IST
- India vs United States: July 29 at 5 pm BST and 9:30 pm IST
- England vs Ireland: July 29 at 7 pm BST and 11:30 pm IST
India squad
Goalkeepers - 1. Savita (vice-captain), 2. Rajani Etimarpu
Defenders - 3. Sunita Lakra, 4.Deep Grace Ekka, 5. Deepika, 6. Gurjit Kaur, 7. Reena Khokhar
Midfielders - 8. Namita Toppo, 9. Lilima Minz, 10. Monika, 11. Neha Goyal, 12. Navjot Kaur, 13. Nikki Pradhan
Forwards - 14. Rani (captain), 15. Vandana Katariya, 16. Navneet Kaur, 17. Lalremsiami, 18. Udita
