BHUBANESWAR: The pool matches over the last three days have proved to be delicious appetisers, dishing out exciting contests and stunning upsets. The main course will begin with the four quarterfinals here at Kalinga Stadium Hockey Complex on Thursday.
The league stage had plenty of goals - 12 matches produced 53 of them, including 40 field goals, 12 succesfully-converted penalty corners and one penalty stroke.
Barring Muhammad Imran-led Pakistan, who lost all three of their pool matches, all the teams in fray seemed equally strong and capable of beating any opposition on their day.
The tournament got off to a stunning start as England upset 13-time champions Australia 3-1 in the opening match. In another exciting game, Belgium fought back from 0-3 down to hold Australia to a 4-4 draw. But the biggest thriller was when India, the struggling hosts, prevailed over mighty Netherlands 3-2 in the last league match on Tuesday.
It was difficult to believe that the same Indian team had gone down to Germany and Argentina 0-1 and 2-4 respectively. With England annihilating Pakistan 8-2, the 35th edition also witnessed one of the most lopsided matches in the history of the tournament.
Since all eight teams were assured of berths in the last eight, they all had the liberty to test different combinations and strategies during the league stages.
But there will be no such room for experiments in the quarterfinals.
Considering the overnight transformation in the Sardar Singh-led Indian team, their quest for the maiden title now seem feasible.
The scintillating win over Netherlands must have done a world of good to the morale of team and its high performance director Roelant Oltmans. What they need to do in the last quarterfinal against Belgium is a repeat of that performance. The thunderous cheering of the 7,000-strong home crowd will aid their cause.
If the performances in the league stages are anything to go by, Netherlands, Argentina and England will be favourites against Pakistan, Australia and Germany respectively.
However, it will be performance rather than reputation which will matter, and it will be no wonder if a beleaguered Pakistan upset the applecart of Netherlands and set up a possible last-four clash with India.