The French hockey team arrived here on Thursday for the upcoming Odisha Men’s Hockey World Cup 2018 to be held at Kalinga Stadium from November 28 to December 16.
The team after its arrival at the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) was escorted to hotel Mayfair Lagoon amid tight security cover by police.
France is world no. 20 and ranked lowest in the tournament. Grouped in Pool A with Olympic Champions Argentina, Spain and New Zealand, France will need to win at least one match to move up to the crossovers.
The team will begin their campaign against New Zealand on November 29.
“We are the lowest-ranked team in the Hockey World Cup 2018 and our target is to get closer to the top 10. We are in a tough group but we have had good preparations and can cause a little bit of an upset in the tournament,” said French team coach Delmee Jeroen s.
The Argentinean and South African teams had arrived for the HWC on Wednesday.
A total of sixteen nations will participate in the tournament wherein each team will play three matches during the league stage over the span of twelve days before four cross-over matches take place on December 10 and 11.