Eight Olympic gold medals up to 1980. Nothing since. Or, in terms of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) World Cup, first contested in 1971, one gold, in 1975. And nothing since.

The Tokyo Olympics are two years away, but the latest edition of the FIH World Cup, which starts on Wednesday (November 28) and runs until December 16, offers a huge incentive to regain the podium, if not the top step, as it is being held in Bhubaneswar, capital of the Indian state of Odisha.

This will be the third and most important hockey hosting for Bhubaneswar in the space of the last four years, as it was also the venue for the Men's Champions Trophy in 2014 and the Men's World League Final in 2017.

In anticipation, the hosting Kalinga Stadium has been extensively refurbished, with the capacity rising from 8,000 to 15,000.

Throughout the last ten editions of the tournament, which brings together the top 16 teams in the world, India's men have been overtaken by the emergence of teams from Germany, who won the trophy in 2002 and 2006, Australia, winners in 1986 and the last two editions in 2010 and 2014, The Netherlands, who were triumphant in 1973, 1990 and 1998, and of course their fierce neighbourhood rivals Pakistan, winners in 1971, 1978, 1982 and 1994.

History beckons for Australia, who would become the first team to win three successive titles if they could equal Pakistan's total of World Cup victories next month.

However, the fortunes of the Indian men's team are on the rise - and that is official. They are currently the fastest rising team in the FIH world rankings, and have recently taken Rio 2016 bronze medallists Germany's place as the fifth-ranked nation behind, from the top, World Cup champions Australia, Rio 2016 champions Argentina, Rio 2016 silver medallists Belgium and 2014 World Cup silver medallists The Netherlands.

At the World League Final on their home ground last year, India's men beat Germany 2-1 in the bronze medal match.

This year's Gold Coast Commonwealth Games saw India's men top a qualifying group that included England and Malaysia, before losing to New Zealand in the semi-final and then England in the bronze medal match.

They made the podium at the Asian Games in September, however, beating Pakistan 2-1 in the bronze medal match.

One of the reasons for this renaissance in Indian hockey is the huge support the game is now receiving from the Odisha region in which the imminent World Cup will be staged.

The region has a long and rich history of involvement in the game, which history records was introduced to it by Christian missionaries. Traditionally, children in the region have played the game with bamboo sticks and balls of rolled-up cotton, and it has been a major supplier of players to the national team.

"Hockey in Odisha is more than a sport; it's a way of life, especially in tribal regions," Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said during an event in New Delhi in February where it was announced that Odisha would sponsor the national men's and women's hockey teams for the next five years.

Hockey India, under the guidance of its highly effective Australian chief executive Officer Elena Norman, switched the sponsorship from Indian business conglomerate Sahara, who had been due to see out a contract until 2021.

It is the first time a State Government has sponsored the team, in a deal that involves men and women's teams, both senior and junior. The deal is estimated to be worth a total of Rs 150 crore (£16.5 million/$21.2 million/€18.7 million).

Sahara's sponsorship of the Indian team between 2012 and 2017 was believed to have been worth less than a third of that.

Back in 2014, Odisha became the only State to own a team in Hockey India League when Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation and Mahanadi Coalfield Limited combined to form the Kalinga Lancers, who played at the Kalinga Stadium.

Plans are also in place to build a national-level hockey academy in the city.

The enthusiasm that is being generated in the Odisha region has been reflected in ticket sales for the forthcoming World Cup.

Tickets for every India game are already sold out, and those for other matches are going fast.

According to the latest FIH figures, a total of half of the 36 scheduled matches are already sold out, with those remaining having sold at least half of their tickets.

Delf Ness, the FIH marketing and communications director, was in Bhubaneswar for both the 2014 Champions Trophy and last year's World League Final events, and reports that the support there was "unbelievable".

A Masters level player, Ness previously represented the German junior team before turning out for Hamburg's Club an der Alster in the Bundesliga.

"I've been to India four times in the last two years, and the passion for the game there is overwhelming," he said.

"We've heard that the Indian Federation has sold 300,000 tickets for the World Cup this week. They have rebuilt and refurbished the stadium and increased it to a 15,000 capacity.

"One of the things you notice most about matches in India is how much the crowds root for the players. And not just the home players. They also get behind the top international players from other countries.

"I would say they are unique in that respect

"The Indians are really good hosts. They work really hard at every aspect of it, and put a lot of energy into entertaining visiting teams.

"And India's men are now back among the top teams in the world. They have improved their form significantly in recent years."

Has that form improved significantly enough for India to step back onto a World Cup podium for the first time in 43 years?

"You know how it is when teams are at home in a big tournament," Ness responds. "They could go very, very far. Maybe it will be a miracle and they will win."

While the current resurgence is being supported, and financed, by the Odisha authorities, the tide effectively turned in 2008 when India's men failed to make the Olympics for the first time. The sense of shock was followed by a very deliberate reassessment of how best to structure their future efforts.

"Part of the reason for what happened in 2008 was that other nations had started to develop their own great programmes and coaching systems," Ness says. "Plus nations such as Germany, The Netherlands and Australia also had their own strong tradition within the game.

"If you want to succeed at world level in modern times, everything has to be right at all levels. You need to have a lot of skilled players to choose from, you need excellent coaching, but you also need great people operating at the head of the operation.

"Hockey India appointed Elena Norman as chief executive. And under her direction, things started to get back on track. A number of Indian players came to play in Europe and experience different aspects of the game. Some also played in Australia to gain more experience.

"They also hired some European coaches so that the players could get some new influences on their game. Overall, it was a big package of action.

"Indian teams have always been known for their technical ability. For instance, the way their players are able to dribble with the ball is spectacular.

"I would say the Indian spirit of the game is about strong options and spectacular play. Maybe sometimes their defensive play has suffered as a result. But that has been analysed and improved upon for a number of years.

"The favourites for the title would have to be Germany, The Netherlands, Argentina and Australia. 

"England's men have a good team, but they are not currently as strong as England women's team.

"It's an advantage for the Indian side to play at home - but these sides are all experienced enough to handle that pressure."

This week in the Daily Pioneer, Biswaraj Patnaik offered a richly expressive evaluation of what all this support and excitement is doing for hockey in terms of its overall position in India.

"How relieving it is to witness hockey coming back and occupying centre stage as the game of the nation after nearly four decades of cricket drudgery," he writes. "The sensible people of India are sighing in great relief that the uncontrollable cricket has been contained for the first time on record….

"What one feels great about is that even the once-rabidly cricket-crazy young people of India are talking, dreaming and craving to watch hockey by grabbing a ticket, no matter at what cost.

"To be at the Kalinga Stadium, the globally-known hockey venue like Wimbledon is for lawn tennis, the people can go to any extent. They want to watch hockey live and cheer for the stars. Thus, hockey is back in the hearts of the Asians, which is a miracle by itself."

Ness, more soberly, concurs with this view.

"Cricket is probably the number one sport in India, but hockey is right up there challenging it," he said.

"And there is going to be a huge focus of interest in the game with this World Cup and the plans to re-start the Indian Hockey League next year.

"The League ran for a few years but then took a break because of scheduling issues with the world calendar. But there are plans for it to come back next year.

"There are clear parallels with cricket's Indian Premier League. Some of the international players are as popular as the Indian players. It's amazing. Some of the Australian and German players are heroes to the home spectators. They are so knowledgeable about the game.

"That's why I think it will be such a great World Cup, both for the fans and for the future of the game.

"There is an unbelievable appetite for news about the game from the media in India. Whenever we have events there we have so many journalists coming to cover the games.

"It makes news on the front as well as the back pages. And an event the size of the World Cup means sponsors are taking out huge adverts."

Veteran Indian hockey writer K Arumugam believes that the passion for the game within India has never diminished, even though the successes generated by legendary players such as Dhyan Chand, captain of the 1936 Olympic winners, and the men who led the sides to Games gold on the next three occasions – Kishan Lal, K D Singh and Balbir Singh Sr - have long long since slipped back into history.

He told insidethegames: "Hockey is still popular in India. Indian hockey may not be performing to its past glory, but people, and especially the media, are still driven by sentiments about the history and the legacy of the game.

"Even a small victory therefore evokes great enthusiasm. Hockey was the lone sport on which the Indian Olympic Movement was built, sustained over the last eight decades, and running even now.

"People also understand a sport cannot be at top and winning gold at Olympics every time.

"Indian hockey is still number one in Asia, and is constantly defeating its arch-rivals Pakistan. With unheard of levels of Government spending now coming in directly and indirectly, and the kind of career opportunities it offers, hockey will continue to be a leading sport in India, if not the leading sport.

"Hockey is the unwritten national sport of India, and its survival doesn't depend only upon Olympic success."

Given the general direction of progress in the Indian game, however, a medal at this World Cup might yet propel this nation of passionate players and followers back to its former Olympic heights…