How they qualified: 1st Place – 2022 Men’s Hockey Africa Cup of Nations

Notable honours: 8x Africa Cup of Nations gold medallists (1993, 1996, 2000, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2022), 2x All-Africa Games gold medallists (1995, 1999), 4x African Olympic Qualifier champions (2007, 2011, 2015, 2019), 10th Place – Hockey World Cup (2010), 10th Place – Olympic Games (1996, 2004). FIH Champions Challenge silver medallists (2001), FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup champions (2022).

Rank in previous WC editions: 1994 – 10th, 2002 – 13th, 2006 – 12th, 2010 – 10th, 2014 – 11th, 2018 – 16th.

Following their superb title victory in the recent FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup, earning them a ticket to the next edition of the elite FIH Hockey Pro League, South Africa have every reason to believe that they can achieve big things here in Odisha. The tournament hosts finished top of the pile on home soil in Potchefstroom, recording victories over Pakistan, France, and Korea before claiming a thrilling 4-3 win against Ireland – who they had lost to earlier in the competition – in the competition final. Inspirational 23-year-old captain Dayaan Cassiem scored twice in the title match, with younger sibling Mustaphaa netting a penalty stroke won by his big brother.

The outrageously gifted Cassiem brothers may be the poster boys of this hugely exciting new generation, but the team are far from reliant on them. Striker Tevin Kok is proving himself to be a reliable source of goals, while 33-year-old defender Jethro Eustice brings a steady, experienced head to a group brimming with youth and talent.

One to watch: Dayaan Cassiem. A livewire forward capable of hurting the very best teams in the world, a fact proven by some extraordinary individual performances at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and more recently in the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup.