India are hosting the Hockey World Cup for the fourth time. Out of these four times, Odisha has hosted the marquee tournament twice including the Hockey World Cup 2023 which will be played in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela from January 13 to January 29. So far 14 Hockey World Cups have been held and nine countries have gotten the chance to host the showpiece event. But only two countries have managed to emerge as champions while hosting the tournament. Netherlands and Germany have this rare feat against their name. Meanwhile India haven't managed to achieve this feat so far.
Netherlands were the first to record this feat. They hosted the Hockey World Cup in 1973 and scripted history by winning the title in their very first shot. The European side defeated India in the summit clash to emerge the world champions. In the final, the Dutchmen won 4-2 in the penalty shootout after the match ended in to 2-2 stalemate in the stipulated time. Back then, West Germany and Pakistan finished third and fourth respectively.
Netherlands came back to strike again in 1998
Netherlands replicated their glory again in 1998. Scripting history, they won the title for the third time by defeating Spain 3-2 in the final. Riding on this stunning win, the Netherlands became the first country to win the title twice at home. Back in 1998, Germany and Australia ended up grabbing the third and the fourth spot respectively
When Germany emulated Netherlands' record
In 2006, Germany emulated Netherlands' of winning the Hockey World Cup on their own land. They defeated Australia with a scoreline of 4-3 in the final and won the World Cup for the second time. Through this, they also achieved the feat of becoming the second country after Pakistan to defend the World Cup. Germany had won the World Cup in 2002 before 2006 and even then they had defeated Australia. Meanwhile, Pakistan won the World Cup twice in a row in 1978 and 1982.
The tale of runners-up
Spain, England and Pakistan are the teams who have become runners up while hosting. Spain hosted the Hockey World Cup in 1971 and were defeated by Pakistan. In 1986, England hosted the grand event were defeated by Australia. In 1990, Pakistan were the host and were defeated by the Netherlands in the final.
How did India fare?
It will be interesting to see whether India can emulate the rare record of Netherlands and Germany or not. India, who won the Hockey World Cup in 1975, have so far hosted the World Cup thrice in 1982, 2010 and 2018 out of which their best performance came in 1982 when they finished fifth. India were ranked eighth in 2010 and sixth in 2018.
