<p>England hockey team were stunned in their campaign opener of the 14th edition of hockey World Cup by debutants China on Friday at Odisha's Kalinga Stadium.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The high-octane match became intriguing in the fourth and final quarter which saw multiple ups and down for both the team.</p>

<p>In the first quarter, China's striker Guo Xiaoping hammered team's first goal which was equalised by England's Mark Gleghorne with the help of a penalty corner.</p>

<p>China's men's hockey team's best result in the sport to date is a silver medal finish at the 2006 Doha Asian Games and after the thirling entry in the World cup, the team is definitely in the title race.</p>

<p>After two goalless quarters, England got a breakthrough in the 48th minute as Liam Ansell scored but in a turn of events, China's Talake Du netted the equalizer in a nail-biting finish.</p>

<p>Talake Du was given the player of the match for his crucial contribution to his team.</p>

<p>China's South Korean coach Sang Ryul Kim praised the lion-hearted efforts of his men, saying the result came as a "surprise" to him.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"We came here with no high expectation as we are making our debut. What we wanted was to show fight and we did that today. It was a gritty performance from the boys and it was a good surprise to see us score 2 goals today," Kim said after the match.</p>

<p><strong>Also Read:</strong>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/live-hockey-world-cup-2018-england-vs-china-180490">As it happened | England 2-2 China</a></p>

<p>Unusual as it may sound but China, for all its sporting culture, provinces and gargantuan size, had to pick all its 18 hockey World Cup-bound players from one province.</p>

<p>Very few people know that the country's entire 18-member men's hockey team belongs to just one province -&nbsp;Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. China is made up of 34 provinces.</p>

<p>The modern game started in China in the mid-1970s.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">The Chinese players were eager to take a photo to mark the occasion of their first ever Hockey World Cup match, after the team drew against <a href="https://twitter.com/EnglandHockey?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EnglandHockey</a> in their opening match of the OHMWC Bhubaneswar 2018.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IndiaKaGame?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IndiaKaGame</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HWC2018?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HWC2018</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DilHockey?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DilHockey</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ENGvCHN?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ENGvCHN</a> <a href="https://t.co/wG6wqjKNY6">pic.twitter.com/wG6wqjKNY6</a></p>
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheHockeyIndia/status/1068524376067198980?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<p>In the other hard-fought Pool B match, which was between Australia and Ireland, Kookaburras defeated Ireland 2-1.</p>

<p>Next, China will face Ireland on December 4 and England will meet Australia on the same date.</p>


England hockey team were stunned in their campaign opener of the 14th edition of hockey World Cup by debutants China on Friday at Odisha's Kalinga Stadium. The high-octane match became intriguing in the fourth and final quarter which saw multiple ups and down for both the team.

England hockey team were stunned in their campaign opener of the 14th edition of hockey World Cup by debutants China on Friday at Odisha's Kalinga Stadium. The high-octane match became intriguing in the fourth and final quarter which saw multiple ups and down for both the team. In the first quarter, China's striker Guo Xiaoping hammered team's first goal which was equalised by England's Mark Gleghorne with the help of a penalty corner. China's men's hockey team's best result in the sport to date is a silver medal finish at the 2006 Doha Asian Games and after the thirling entry in the World cup, the team is definitely in the title race. After two goalless quarters, England got a breakthrough in the 48th minute as Liam Ansell scored but in a turn of events, China's Talake Du netted the equalizer in a nail-biting finish. Talake Du was given the player of the match for his crucial contribution to his team. China's South Korean coach Sang Ryul Kim praised the lion-hearted efforts of his men, saying the result came as a "surprise" to him. "We came here with no high expectation as we are making our debut. What we wanted was to show fight and we did that today. It was a gritty performance from the boys and it was a good surprise to see us score 2 goals today," Kim said after the match. Also Read: As it happened | England 2-2 China Unusual as it may sound but China, for all its sporting culture, provinces and gargantuan size, had to pick all its 18 hockey World Cup-bound players from one province. Very few people know that the country's entire 18-member men's hockey team belongs to just one province - Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. China is made up of 34 provinces. The modern game started in China in the mid-1970s. The Chinese players were eager to take a photo to mark the occasion of their first ever Hockey World Cup match, after the team drew against @EnglandHockey in their opening match of the OHMWC Bhubaneswar 2018.#IndiaKaGame #HWC2018 #DilHockey #ENGvCHN pic.twitter.com/wG6wqjKNY6 — Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) November 30, 2018 × In the other hard-fought Pool B match, which was between Australia and Ireland, Kookaburras defeated Ireland 2-1. Next, China will face Ireland on December 4 and England will meet Australia on the same date.

Hockey: China hold England in World Cup debut match

WION Exclusive: Team India stars look ahead to 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup

<p>Manpreet Singh-led India registered an outstanding victory against South Africa&nbsp;in their opener clash of <a href="http://www.wionews.com/hockey-world-cup">2018 Hockey World Cup</a>.</p>

<p>With the help of three field goals and two penalty corners, India defeated South Africa 5-0 in the second match of the evening.</p>

<p>Team India are seeking&nbsp;to end 43-year-long medal drought in the 14th edition of Men's Hockey World Cup at the Kalinga Stadium.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Eight-time Olympic champions India's only glory at the World Cup came way back in 1975 when Ajit Pal Singh and his men's created history for the past masters of the game.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Since then India has failed to match the standards of the Europeans - Netherlands, Germany - and Australia, who have been ruling the game for over four decades now.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In the last 10 editions since its maiden triumph in 1975, India's best performance was a fifth-place finish at the 1982 edition in Mumbai (then Bombay).&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Also Read | </strong><a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/mens-hockey-world-cup-2018-schedule-squad-time-and-venue-177870">Men's Hockey World Cup 2018: Schedule, Squad, Time and Venue</a></p>

<p>Simaranjeet Singh was awarded player of the match for scoring two crucial goals.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="et">🏑 | POTM | Simranjeet Singh | <a href="https://twitter.com/TheHockeyIndia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheHockeyIndia</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HWC2018?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HWC2018</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Odisha2018?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Odisha2018</a><br />
🇮🇳 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/INDvRSA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#INDvRSA</a> 🇿🇦 <a href="https://t.co/IBMTc2twEy">pic.twitter.com/IBMTc2twEy</a></p>
— Hockey World Cup 2018 - Host Partner (@sports_odisha) <a href="https://twitter.com/sports_odisha/status/1067797497014185984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">28 November 2018</a></blockquote>
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<p>Mandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh and Lalit Upadhyay were the other goal scorers.</p>

<p><strong>As it happened |</strong> <a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/live-hockey-world-cup-2018-india-vs-south-africa-180030">India 5-0 South Africa</a></p>

<p>'The wall of Indian hockey team', PR Sreejesh, might not have played his most difficult match today but the job is not done yet, bigger challenges are standing on the way as India will next face world number three Belgium in their second pool match on December 2.</p>


Manpreet Singh-led India registered an outstanding victory against South Africa in their opener clash of 2018 Hockey World Cup. With the help of three field goals and two penalty corners, India defeated South Africa 5-0 in the second match of the evening.

Manpreet Singh-led India registered an outstanding victory against South Africa in their opener clash of 2018 Hockey World Cup. With the help of three field goals and two penalty corners, India defeated South Africa 5-0 in the second match of the evening. Team India are seeking to end 43-year-long medal drought in the 14th edition of Men's Hockey World Cup at the Kalinga Stadium. Eight-time Olympic champions India's only glory at the World Cup came way back in 1975 when Ajit Pal Singh and his men's created history for the past masters of the game. Since then India has failed to match the standards of the Europeans - Netherlands, Germany - and Australia, who have been ruling the game for over four decades now. In the last 10 editions since its maiden triumph in 1975, India's best performance was a fifth-place finish at the 1982 edition in Mumbai (then Bombay). Also Read | Men's Hockey World Cup 2018: Schedule, Squad, Time and Venue Simaranjeet Singh was awarded player of the match for scoring two crucial goals. 🏑 | POTM | Simranjeet Singh | @TheHockeyIndia#HWC2018 #Odisha2018 🇮🇳 #INDvRSA 🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/IBMTc2twEy — Hockey World Cup 2018 - Host Partner (@sports_odisha) 28 November 2018 × Mandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh and Lalit Upadhyay were the other goal scorers. As it happened | India 5-0 South Africa 'The wall of Indian hockey team', PR Sreejesh, might not have played his most difficult match today but the job is not done yet, bigger challenges are standing on the way as India will next face world number three Belgium in their second pool match on December 2.

Hockey World Cup: Thrilling start as India vanquish South Africa

<p>Australia, also known as the Kookaburras, will look to defend the Men's Hockey World Cup title in Odisha but current co-captain Aran Zalewski said it will be one of the most open men's hockey World Cups in recent times and his team will have to test themselves against the best teams.</p>

<p>Kookaburras have made 13 World Cup appearances and won the title in 1986, 2010 and 2014.</p>

<p>"World hockey is close at the moment and very competitive and any team can win and obviously India at home with home crowd will be very tough to beat," said Zalewski after arriving here with his team for the World Cup.</p>

<p>"We have a chance to test ourselves against the best in the world as we haven't tested ourselves since Rio (2016 Olympics) so we want to do very well here," he added.</p>

<p>For the current world number one, it is a sort of homecoming, who had claimed the Champions Trophy in 2014 and the Hockey World League Final in 2017 here.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Defending Champions <a href="https://twitter.com/Kookaburras?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Kookaburras</a>' Co-Captain <a href="https://twitter.com/AranZalewski?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AranZalewski</a> believes the Kalinga Stadium is the best place in the world to play hockey and he cannot contain his excitement for the Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IndiaKaGame?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IndiaKaGame</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HCT2018?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HCT2018</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DilHockey?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DilHockey</a> <a href="https://t.co/OTW7gZZlPk">pic.twitter.com/OTW7gZZlPk</a></p>
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheHockeyIndia/status/1066250343481294848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<p>Australia has Ireland, England and China in Pool B and head coach Colin Batch said it isn't going to be an easy task for his side even in Pool Stages.&nbsp;</p>

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<p>"We are the Champions but a long way from winning this tournament. We have a lot of work to do. We saw that in the Women's World Cup, a lot of surprises sprung up so we have to perform at our best against Ireland in the first game and then see what happens from there,? said Batch, a World Cup winner himself in 1986.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"We haven't seen Ireland for a while but they have played some good hockey. England we have played them a few times, they are a good side and China are a bit unknown so we just take one game a time."</p>

<p>Australia will&nbsp;open their title-defence campaign against Ireland on November 30.&nbsp;</p>


Australia, also known as the Kookaburras, will look to defend the Men's Hockey World Cup title in Odisha but current co-captain Aran Zalewski said it will be one of the most open men's hockey World Cups in recent times and his team will have to test themselves against the best teams.

Australia, also known as the Kookaburras, will look to defend the Men's Hockey World Cup title in Odisha but current co-captain Aran Zalewski said it will be one of the most open men's hockey World Cups in recent times and his team will have to test themselves against the best teams. Kookaburras have made 13 World Cup appearances and won the title in 1986, 2010 and 2014. "World hockey is close at the moment and very competitive and any team can win and obviously India at home with home crowd will be very tough to beat," said Zalewski after arriving here with his team for the World Cup. "We have a chance to test ourselves against the best in the world as we haven't tested ourselves since Rio (2016 Olympics) so we want to do very well here," he added. For the current world number one, it is a sort of homecoming, who had claimed the Champions Trophy in 2014 and the Hockey World League Final in 2017 here. Defending Champions @Kookaburras' Co-Captain @AranZalewski believes the Kalinga Stadium is the best place in the world to play hockey and he cannot contain his excitement for the Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018.#IndiaKaGame #HCT2018 #DilHockey pic.twitter.com/OTW7gZZlPk — Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) November 24, 2018 × Australia has Ireland, England and China in Pool B and head coach Colin Batch said it isn't going to be an easy task for his side even in Pool Stages. × "We are the Champions but a long way from winning this tournament. We have a lot of work to do. We saw that in the Women's World Cup, a lot of surprises sprung up so we have to perform at our best against Ireland in the first game and then see what happens from there,? said Batch, a World Cup winner himself in 1986. "We haven't seen Ireland for a while but they have played some good hockey. England we have played them a few times, they are a good side and China are a bit unknown so we just take one game a time." Australia will open their title-defence campaign against Ireland on November 30.

Difficult to beat 'India at home', says Australian captain Aran Zalewski

<p>The 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup is scheduled to be held from November&nbsp;28 to December&nbsp;16, 2018 and the opening ceremony for the event, which was earlier scheduled for November 27 at the Kalinga Stadium, will now be held in two parts.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The inaugural ceremony will take place on November 27 in Bhubaneswar's Kalinga Stadium while the second part, that is the world cup celebration, will be in Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on November 28.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The decision was taken by the organising board due to limited space and high public demand.&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/mens-hockey-world-cup-2018-schedule-squad-time-and-venue-177870">Men's Hockey World Cup 2018: Schedule, Squad, Time and Venue</a></p>

<p>The best teams around the world showcase their skills on the field during the World Cup to clinch the coveted trophy in the most important tournament in field hockey after Olympics which is organised after every four years.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Tickets for both the events will be available online from November 20.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik purchased the first ticket for the inaugural ceremony.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Delighted to receive the first ticket of Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2018 opening ceremony from <a href="https://twitter.com/TheHockeyIndia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheHockeyIndia</a>. Hope fans from all over the world are ready to catch the euphoria of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HWC2018?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HWC2018</a> and explore <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Odisha?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Odisha</a>. Looking forward to welcome you all in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bhubaneswar?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bhubaneswar</a> <a href="https://t.co/M5DebJvDLD">pic.twitter.com/M5DebJvDLD</a></p>
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) <a href="https://twitter.com/Naveen_Odisha/status/1064484213036998661?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<p><a href="http://www.wionews.com/photos/mens-hockey-world-cup-2018-all-teams-and-their-squad-list-177944">Men's Hockey World Cup 2018: All teams and their squad list</a></p>


The 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup is scheduled to be held from November 28 to December 16, 2018 and the opening ceremony for the event, which was earlier scheduled for November 27 at the Kalinga Stadium, will now be held in two parts.

The 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup is scheduled to be held from November 28 to December 16, 2018 and the opening ceremony for the event, which was earlier scheduled for November 27 at the Kalinga Stadium, will now be held in two parts. The inaugural ceremony will take place on November 27 in Bhubaneswar's Kalinga Stadium while the second part, that is the world cup celebration, will be in Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on November 28. The decision was taken by the organising board due to limited space and high public demand. Men's Hockey World Cup 2018: Schedule, Squad, Time and Venue The best teams around the world showcase their skills on the field during the World Cup to clinch the coveted trophy in the most important tournament in field hockey after Olympics which is organised after every four years. Tickets for both the events will be available online from November 20. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik purchased the first ticket for the inaugural ceremony. Delighted to receive the first ticket of Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2018 opening ceremony from @TheHockeyIndia. Hope fans from all over the world are ready to catch the euphoria of #HWC2018 and explore #Odisha. Looking forward to welcome you all in #Bhubaneswar pic.twitter.com/M5DebJvDLD — Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) November 19, 2018 × Men's Hockey World Cup 2018: All teams and their squad list

Hockey World Cup: Inaugural function to be held in two parts