Hockey
State-wise representation of Indian hockey team for World Cup
Punjab dominates the Indian men's team at the 2023 Hockey World Cup once more. Six other states find representation.
The northwestern state of Punjab continues to dominate the Indian men's hockey team. India's 18-man squad at the 2023 Hockey World Cup has 10 players from Punjab. Odisha and Haryana have two players each. Four other states - Manipur, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh - have one player each in the side.
State-wise breakdown of India's hockey team
Punjab - Harmanpreet Singh (captain), Manpreet Singh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Jarmanpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Shamsher Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Varun Kumar
Haryana - Surender Kumar, Abhishek
Odisha - Amit Rohidas (vice-captain), Nilam Sandeep Xess
Manipur - Nilakanta Sharma
Kerala - PR Sreejesh
Uttar Pradesh - Lalit Upadhyay
Madhya Pradesh - Vivek Sagar Prasad
India will take on Spain in their opening encounter of the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup 2023 in Rourkela, Odisha on Friday.
There are 16 teams in the World Cup. India are placed in a tricky Group D with Spain, Wales and England.
The four winners of the pool stage will qualify for the quarter-finals wile the teams finishing second and third will play crossover matches for the remaining four spots in the last eight.
The last time India reached the podium at the Hockey World Cup was in 1975.