Hockey5s readies itself for inaugural World Cup, with debut nations and major ones missing

Sixteen women’s teams kickstarted the inaugural Hockey 5s World Cup in Muscat on Wednesday in a new state-of-the-art stadium. The men will follow with another four days of action and the Netherlands likely vying for debut titles in both.

Six nations will also be making their World Cup debut in an FIH event: Fiji men and women, Oman men and women, Thailand and Zambia women, the Jamaican men’s team and Paraguay women. Meanwhile, the likes of Egypt men and Ukraine women could spring medal surprises. We could even see the odd cricket score being racked up, too.