BHUWANESHWAR, January 6 :Defending champions Belgium will bank on seasoned mid-fielders like John-John Dohmen to provide them with the winning momentum in their bid to retain the FIH Hockey World Cup in Odisha, starting January 13.
Head coach Michel van den Heuvel said players like Dohmen, with more than 400 international caps, will give the Olympic champions a huge advantage in their campaign.
The defending champions are clubbed with Germany, Japan and Korea in Pool B. They will take on Korea here on January 14.
“Well, all of them are very experienced and they know the game. They (players like Dohmen) have played here before and won the trophy. So, even though, we are under difficult circumstances this time, their presence will help the team. It’s so great to have them in our squad,” said Heuvel.
If the Red Lions, led by Felix Denayer, are able to defend the title here they will become only the fourth nation after Pakistan (1978, 1982), Germany (2002, 2006), and Australia (2010, 2014) to win two consecutive editions of the men’s hockey World Cup.
“We are really well prepared. We had been to a training camp in Spain where we won all our games. So, there is a lot of confidence in our camp that we will do well in the tournament,” said Denayer on Friday.“But obviously, we know it’s always a really tough competition, so we are really excited to get started,” he added. (PTI)
