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India play Germany in WC opener
Published on Tue, Sep 05, 2006 at 21:34, Updated on Fri, Sep 08, 2006 at 10:23 in 
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New Delhi: The hockey World Cup gets underway in less than 24 hours in Monchengladbach in Germany and India will play the opening match against the hosts on Wednesday.
Drag flicker Raghunath has replaced injured Sandeep Singh in the squad.
"His absence will be felt, but then, we need to look forward," chief coach V Bhaskaran says about Sandeep's forced absence.
With eight Olympic gold medals and one World Cup title in the bag the team has the burden of a legacy to live up to.
The new look Indian team has the task of erasing bitter memories of the last World Cup where it finished 10th.
They kick off their campaign with a match against European powerhouse and defending champions Germany.
The football World Cup showed how the Germans rallied behind their team so India have their task cut out.
India's record in the last two years against European opponents is appalling.
They have won just one match out of eight and that too against a weak England team.
But this time Team India is prepared to surprise everyone with a new playing style and the team management says it will take it one match at a time.
For now, the target is the semi-final but to get there India will have to either win its group or come second.
"The players are motivated and we hope to do well here. Realistically, our target is to qualify for the semi-finals," Bhaskaran says.
And at the World Cup there are no easy games and India will have to raise its game to make an impact.
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