Bhubaneswar: Pakistan Hockey Team, which arrived in Odisha for Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018, said Kalinga Stadium is the lucky ground for them.
“We have come here before and we have always enjoyed playing at this venue. It is a lucky ground for us and we are very excited to be back,” expressed Rizwan Senior on the team’s arrival at the Biju Patnaik International Airport.
The team led by Muhammad Rizwan Senior shared their anticipation and excitement to arrive in Bhubaneswar where they last played the FIH Champions Trophy Final against Australia in 2014.
Speaking of the ‘Pool of Death’ Pool D, Hasan Sardar the legendary centre-forward and team manager of Pakistan team said, “With Germany, the Netherlands, Malaysia in our pool, it is a pool of death and every single match will matter. We will need to play it like it is a knockout in every single game. The first match is against Germany and we are targeting a win against them. I would like to wish all participating teams the very best. I hope all 16 teams put up a great show so people of India and everyone in the world enjoy hockey matches.”
Earlier in the evening, the Netherlands and Belgium arrived for the tournament to begin on 28 November 2018.