India to begin hockey World Cup campaign against Pak

India to begin hockey World Cup campaign against Pak Lausanne (Switzerland), Dec 29 : India take on arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening fixture of the FIH Hero Honda World Cup hockey tournament to be held in New Delhi from Feb 28 to March 13, according to the match schedule announced by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) here Tuesday.

India are placed in pool B along with Pakistan, Australia, Spain, England and South Africa while pool A includes defending champions Germany, the Netherlands, Argentina, Korea, New Zealand and Canada.

Spain will take on South Africa in the inaugural match at 4.35 p. m., followed by Australia vs England at 6.35 p. m. and India vs Pakistan at 8.35 p. m.

India will play all their league matches at 8.35 p. m. They come up against Australia on March 2, Spain March 4, England March 6 and South Africa March 8.

The two semi-final matches are scheduled for March 11 and the final is on March 13.(IANS)