New Delhi, 26 November 2017: The Indian Women’s Hockey Team will be grouped with England, Ireland and USA in Pool B for the prestigious Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018 scheduled to begin on 21 July 2018.
The 16 national women’s teams qualified for the event now know who they will face in next year’s pinnacle event with the pools and schedule for the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018 officially released by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) today.
Fans can also get in on the action with all remaining tickets now released for general public sale via the official ticket website. A look at the schedule reveals some fantastic match-ups as the top teams in the world prepare to go head-to-head.
While in Pool A, the world number one side and current holders of the World Cup, Netherlands, await the challenge of Asian giants China and Korea as well as rising European stars Italy, Pool B is headed by the host nation and World No.2 England. They will face tough challenges from the Indian Women’s team who were recently crowned Asia Cup Champions which won them the World Cup berth. USA who won the 2017 Hockey World League Semi-Final in Johannesburg and Ireland also feature in Pool B.
India will face hosts England in their first match on July 21. “We look forward to the challenge in Pool B. England (World No.2) and USA (World No.7) are ranked above us but the Indian Women’s team is on the rise with confidence-boosting performances in the past few months. Every match at the World Cup is important and each match needs to be played like a Final. It will be crucial for us to have a good outing in the Commonwealth Games next year so we carry a winning momentum into the World Cup. We have set our sights on Mission 2018 and all our training will be focused on peaking at the prestigious tournament,” stated Indian Women’s Team Chief Coach Harendra Singh.
Argentina are ranked number three in the world, and they have European rivals Germany and Spain to contend with, along with African continental Champions South Africa in Pool C. Pool D sees Oceania rivals Australia and New Zealand go head to head along with Japan and 2017 Rabobank EuroHockey Championship runners-up Belgium.
There are some amazing games to look forward to in the Pool stages, with many matches guaranteed to have fans on the edge of their seats.
With England’s 10,000-seater Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park sold out for six sessions, including all England’s Pool matches – plus their potential quarter-final, the semi-finals and final, fans should not hesitate in snapping up the remaining tickets.
For those who can’t make it to the venue, this event will be broadcast to millions across the world in over 100 countries through FIH’s global broadcaster partners.
With eight months between now and the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018 and today’s release of the match schedule, the countdown has really begun.
