India’s gold medal at the 1975 men’s International Hockey Federation (FIH) World Cup was the last it has won of any hue, but home supporters are ready to believe that run can come to an end at the latest edition of the Championships that will get underway tomorrow at Bhubanesewar, in the hockey-mad region of Odisha

In February this year the Federal Government of Odisha announced a five-year sponsorship of the men’s and women’s national teams in a deal reported to be worth a total of Rs 150 crore (£16.5 million/$21.2 million/€18.7 million).

Regional support has enabled a major rebuild of the venue Kalinga Hockey Stadium, increasing its capacity from 8,000 to 15,000.

Images of hockey’s superstars adorn billboards and buildings across a city; all tickets for India’s matches have long ago sold out.

Yesterday, the captains of all 16 competing teams joined Odisha’s Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik at Bhubaneswar’s Mukteshwar Temple for a special commemorative photo alongside the World Cup trophy.

Which team will lift that trophy on December 16 remains to be seen, although only the most optimistic of home fans believes it will be India given the presence of the four teams currently above them in the FH world standings – from the top, World Cup champions Australia, Olympic gold medallists Argentina, Rio 2016 runners-up Belgium and 2014 World Cup silver medallists The Netherlands.

That said, the hosts are on an upward curve - they are the fastest rising international side according to the FIH ranking system,and made the podium at the Asian Games in September, however, beating Pakistan 2-1 in the bronze medal match

An Opening Ceremony for the event featuring Oscar-winning musician A R Rahman and appearances from prominent Bollywood celebrities was due to take place at the Kalinga Athletics Stadium, close to the hockey venue.

The competition format in Bhubaneswar is the same as that which was employed at the Hockey Women’s World Cup in London earlier this year, with the 16 competing nations split into four pools of four.

A guaranteed berth in the competition quarter-finals is on offer to the team that finishes top of each group, with the second and third placed finishers needing to play an extra cross-over play-off match for their place in the last eight.

Two Pool C matches are scheduled to take place tomorrow evening featuring Belgium against Canada, and then the host nation against South Africa.

India Head Coach Harendra Singh and a significant portion of his squad were part of the Junior World Cup success on home soil Lucknow two years ago, and a strong start in Bhubaneswar could be the catalyst for something special.

However, Harendra insists he will not allow his team to get carried away with the occasion - with the experience of Austin Smith, Rhett Halkett and team captain Tim Drummond, South Africa are a highly capable side.