We are tough team to bat, says Chile captain ahead of FIH Men's Hockey World Cup 2023

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], January 5 (ANI): Playing in their first ever Men's Hockey World Cup, the Chile Men's Hockey Team are excited for what lies ahead for them in the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela. The team reached Odisha on Thursday for the tournament and received a warm welcome at the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar.

Led by Fernando Renz, the Chile Men's Hockey Team will go through their final preparations in Bhubaneswar before setting out for Rourkela, where they will play their opening match of the tournament against New Zealand on January 14.

Chile Captain Fernando Renz talked about the atmosphere in the camp ahead of their campaign for the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela. "We have a good mixture of young and senior players in our squad. Our team is really good and we have been playing together for four years. So, we are a team that is really tough to beat and will be doing our best in the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela," said Renz as quoted by a Hockey India press release.

The team is placed in Pool C along with the Netherlands, Malaysia and New Zealand. After making their tournament debut, Chile take on Malaysia on January 16, in Rourkela, and round up their group stage campaign against the Netherlands on January 19 in Bhubaneswar. Their first two group-stage matches will start at 1300 hours IST, while the third will be at 1500 hrs IST.

Fernando Renz also touched upon the challenges they expect to face in the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela, saying, "This is our first time in the Men's Hockey World Cup. We qualified for the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela in Santiago, Chile almost a year back and since then, we have been preparing for this prestigious tournament."

He added, "We knew that we will be playing huge games here in India. As you all know, we have a tough group and will be up against teams like the Netherlands, Malaysia and New Zealand. Every game will be very tough for us but we have been preparing for this tournament the whole year, so, we know we are going to do our best in the competition."

The 16 teams participating in the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela are Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, India, Argentina, Germany, New Zealand, England, France, Korea, Malaysia, Spain, South Africa, Japan, Chile and Wales. The tournament will take place from January 13 to January 29.

Meanwhile, Head Coach Jorge Dabanch is wary of the challenge top teams such as the Netherlands pose for Chile, and said, "There are many top teams in the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela and of course hosts India are one of them as well. Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands will be tough teams to beat and we will look to register a win against these top sides in the tournament."

He also talked about his team's strengths, saying, "We have a very big heart and we will fight for every match. I believe that tactically our team is really good and we are excited to see the kind of challenges we will face in the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela." (ANI)