Belgium wins Hockey World Cup 2018 Title

Belgium Hockey team won their first ever Word cup title on 16th December 2018 after they defeated The Netherlands in sudden death. Belgium, which also won a silver medal in Rio Olympics 2016, made history by beating the opponents by 3-2 in the penalty shoot-out after finals ended without any goal.
Belgium hockey team registered its second biggest international title after winning a silver medal in Rio Olympics silver in 2016 and ending up second in the 2017 Euro Hockey Championships.
About Hockey World Cup 2018:

• The Hockey World Cup 2018 was held at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha from 28 November to 16 December 2018.
• It was the 14th edition of the cup.
• Belgium finished first, while the Netherlands and Australia finished second and third respectively.
• Australia defeated England by 8-1 to secure third place.
• Belgium came fifth in the last edition of the Hockey World Cup which was played at The Hague in the Netherlands.
• India came at sixth place in the Hockey World Cup 2018.
• Arthur Van Doren, the Belgian Hockey player, was awarded as the Best Player of the Hockey World Cup 2018 tournament.
• Australia’s Blake Govers and Belgium’s  Alexander Hendrickx scored most number of goals (7) in the tournament.
• Primin Blaak was the goalkeeper of the tournament and team of Spain was given Fair Play award.

The mascot for Hockey World Cup 2018: Turtle ‘Olly’ was the official mascot for the Hockey World Cup 2018 cup. ‘Olly’ mascot of the Hockey World Cup 2018 represents the Olive Ridley turtles which are an endangered species.  Olive Ridley turtles swim thousands of miles in the ocean to arrive for their annual nesting on Odisha’s Rushikulya and Gahirmatha beaches every year. Olly was also the mascot for Asian Athletics Championships that took place in India in 2017.

Month: Current Affairs - December, 2018