Olympic Champions and current World No 1, Argentina, arrived here on Monday for the Odisha Men’s Hockey World league Final Bhubaneswar 2017 scheduled to begin on December 1 at the Kalinga Stadium. Germany, grouped with India in Pool B, also arrived later in the day.
The teams were welcomed by State Government officials accompanied by those of host nation Hockey India.
Reaching here, 27-year-old Argentine Agustín Mazzilli said that for Argentina, the priority is to finish in the final of the tournament and retain their world ranking. This is a big competition and for us it’s important to stay No 1 in the world which means we have to ensure best results in every match, he added.
Speaking about the Indian line-up, Mazzilli said, “I have played with everyone on the team and some of the youngsters who have come into the mix are extremely good. I hope to play them again in the knockout stage.”
Germany head coach Stefan Kermas said, “I would like our team to play in this atmosphere here and get used to the conditions before we come back next year to play the World Cup. We are looking forward to a good tournament and playing the teams we haven’t played this year.”