Can a steadily improving Team India claim the Hockey World Cup title?

Indian hockey has been on the upswing in the last few years. Now, a home World Cup gives the national team a chance to go from unpredictable challengers to assured contenders

One thing that has become amply evident about international hockey in recent years is the fact that the sport is more frantic, technically driven and fitness-based than ever before. India struggled to live with the sheer pace of the game for the longest time: routinely chasing shadows against counterparts from Europe and Australia technically and physically far superior to them.

More recently, India, at the cost of looking slightly unattractive, have managed to bridge the gap — they are now ranked fifth in the world, higher than Germany, England and Spain. That is genuinely something to shout about. Four years