The 12th edition of the Men’s Hockey World Cup is going to be staged in New Delhi from 28 February to 13 March 2010. 12 teams will be participating in arguably the most important event in men’s hockey, alongside the Olympics. Along with world champions Germany and European powerhouse teams including the Netherlands and Spain, not to forget Australia, the host’s arch-rivals Pakistan have also qualified. The teams have been divided into two teams of 6 each. India’s pool includes Australia, Spain, and interestingly enough, Pakistan. The event starts at 4.30 pm at The Major Dhyanchand National Stadium, which is the sole venue for all matches, with three matches to be held every day during the pool stage. There is then a rest day on the 10th of March before the classification matches start on the 11th. There are three matches each day again to decide the 5th to 12th places with the final on the 13th following the 3rd place playoff match. Tickets for the pool matches and classification matches range from Rs 100 for the general stand to Rs 5000 for the VVIP hospitality stand. Each ticket is valid for all games being played on the day. For the final day, the general stand ticket costs Rs 150 while a VVIP stand ticket costs Rs 7500. Tickets are available at select Cafe Coffee Day outlets, 24×7 Convenience Stores and United Bank of India branches. Tickets for the first day are sure to run out fast with the highlight of the day being India playing Pakistan in the last match of the day.
The stadium was inaugurated, with major renovation work done, on 24th January 2010. The host team has recently begun practicing at the venue with various delays preventing then from using home advantage so far. The renovation cost over 260 crores and the stadium, spread over 32 acres features two synthetic pitches for match play and a third one for practice.
Forget all that. Just follow the words of Virender Sehwag and Priyanka Chopra and be there to support not just the national team, but also some excellent players and teams from around the world.