Paris Olympics: Indian hockey team to play Kiwis July 27

The Indian men’s hockey team will take on New Zealand in its opening match of the Paris Olympics on July 27, according to the schedule announced on Wednesday. India, the Tokyo Olympics bronze medalists, are in Pool B and will take on Argentina on July 29, Ireland on July 30, Belgium on August 1 and Australia on August 2.Pool A consists of the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, France, Great Britain and South Africa.The quarterfinals will be played on August 4 with the semifinals on August 6, while the bronze-medal playoff and the final will take place on August 8.The ceremony was held in the presence of International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach and FIH president Tayyab Ikram.The matches will be taking place at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium in Colombo. Belgium are the defending champions in the men’s category.@@@