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India to take on Pakistan in CWG opener

The draw for the quadrennial extravaganza to be held at the Gold Coast, Australia, from April 5 to 14 was released

India will renew rivalry with Pakistan

New Delhi, November 28: India will begin their 2018 Commonwealth Games hockey campaign with a marquee clash against archrivals Pakistan on April 7.

The draw for the quadrennial extravaganza to be held at the Gold Coast, Australia, from April 5 to 14 was released on Tuesday (November 28).

India are drawn along with Pakistan, England, Malaysia and Wales in Pool B for the matches that will be played at the Gold Coast Hockey Centre .

Pool A features champions and hosts Australia along with New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and Scotland.


Pool A
Australia
New Zealand
Canada
South Africa
Scotland


Pool B
India
England
Malaysia
Pakistan
Wales


The preliminary round matches will be held from April 5 to 11. The top two teams from each pool qualify for the semifinal and medal matches which will be held from April 12-14.

Australia had defeated India in the finals of the last two editions of the quadrennial games and the men in blue would certainly be hoping for a better luck this time.

"It is a tough Pool, but we're looking forward to the challenge. We're playing England and Australia at home in the Men's Hockey World League in Bhubaneswar next month, so this experience will help us in our preparations for the Commonwealth Games. With the top two teams from the pool stage qualifying for the semifinals, the group stage will definitely witness close contest," said head coach Sjoerd Marijne, under whom India won the Asia Cup in Dhaka recently.

Incidentally, it was the first tournament India were playing since the Dutchman took charge.

Meanwhile, in the women's section, India have been pitted alongside England, South Africa, Malaysia and Wales in Pool A. India open their campaign against Wales on April 5. The other pool features Australia, New Zealand, Scotland and Ghana.


Pool A
England
India
South Africa
Malaysia
Wales


Pool B
Australia
New Zealand
Scotland
Canada
Ghana


Indian women have won the tournament only once (2002) and coach Harendra Singh wants his team to raise the bar higher.
"I'm happy with the group. I believe our team can challenge any team in the world and jumping up the world ranking encourages the athletes to get better. It's the Commonwealth Games and we can't take any team lightly."

Story first published: Tuesday, November 28, 2017, 14:41 [IST]
Other articles published on Nov 28, 2017