Hockey World Cup: A look at the past winners

While the teams from 16 nations are battling it out in the ongoing 14th edition of the Hockey World Cup, here is a look back at the past winners of the showpiece event. 

1) India

Hosts India, currently ranked fifth in the world, won their only World Cup trophy way back in 1975 when they clinched a 2-1 victory over arch-rival Pakistan in the final. The eight-time Olympic champions are looking to end their 43-year-long hunt for the prestigious title in the ongoing edition. They have already begun their campaign on a promising note with a thumping 5-0 win over 15th ranked South Africa. 

2) Pakistan

India's arch rival Pakistan is the most successful team in the history of the World Cup, having picked up the titles four times in 1971, 1978, 1982 and 1994. Pakistan, who are standing at the 13th position in the world rankings, will now look to go all the way to clinch their fifth trophy. The team have been grouped alongside the Netherlands, Germany and Malaysia in Pool D in the 2018 edition and are all set to begin their campaign on December 1 against sixth-ranked Germany. 

3) Australia 

Top-ranked Australia is the second most successful team in the history of the prestigious hockey event with a total of three titles in their tally, which came in 1986, 2010 and most recently in 2014. They have also finished as runner ups in the 2008 and 2010 editions, both of which saw Germany emerging out winners. Australia are now heading into the ongoing edition carrying the weight of expectations of being the defending champions. They will kick start their campaign against 10th ranked Ireland on November 30.

4) The Netherlands

Just like Australia, the Netherlands have also won the Hockey World Cup three times in 1973, 1990 and 1998 besides also finishing as runner ups thrice, i.e, in 1978, 1994 and 2014. Placed in Group D, the Netherlands will eye to lift their fourth trophy when they begin their 2018 campaign against Malaysia on December 1.

5) Germany

The fifth and the last team to have achieved success at the World Cup stage is Germany. The team have won the trophy two times in 2008 and 2010 against Australia. However, 10-time Champions Trophy winners and sixth-ranked Germany failed to showcase their magic in the past few years. The team's last major victory came in the 2014 edition of the Champions Trophy, while they made a lowly sixth-place finish in the last World Cup. 

The 2018 edition of the tournament kick started at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on November 28 and it will run till December 16.