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At 14:00 local time, the first game of Group A1 will be played, with the defending champions from Slovakia facing India. Slovakia is once again a big favourite to win this tournament, and they will definitely want to start with a win. Slovakian coach Jozef Ďuris has brought a few players to Pardubice with not much experience, but he said that the most important thing is that the team gets along. It is expected that some Slovakian fans will come to support their side, and why wouldn´t they? Slovakia is the only country to have a medal from all previous 12 championships!
India will play at the main event for the first time since 2009 – the year they made it all the way to the finals, where they lost in overtime after a great game against the Czech Republic. India doesn´t have as many great players, but they definitely won´t give it to Slovakia for free.
The second game of Group A1 features Canada against Greece. The Canadians have won the Championship five times already and dream of another gold in Pardubice. Last time they got knocked out in the quarterfinals against Slovakia. The Greeks surprisingly beat Canada in 2015 in Switzerland and ended up in fourth place after a loss against the Czech Republic in the battle for third place.
Fans of Ball Hockey in the Czech Republic have been waiting for this moment a long time, and the first game for the Czech national team will be on Thursday against Switzerland at Tipsport Arena. The home side is the favourite in this match-up, and a win would definitely put them in a comfortable position.
Switzerland is getting better and better – in 2015 they finished sixth at their home Championship. The Swiss national team has already played in the Czech Republic this year in Plzeň. There, they beat Slovakia and lost 3-2 twice against the Czechs. Switzerland didn´t just come to the Czech Republic for a holiday – they will give it all to get through Group A2.
The second match of the group B2 will be played between Greece and Canada. The five time world champions from Canada will give it their all to win here in Pardubice after the disappointment at the last tournament in Switzerland, where they went out in the quarterfinals against Slovakia. Greece on the other hand finished fourth, their best ever finish at the World Championships. In Zug they surprisingly beat Canada and then lost in the battle for third place against the Czech Republic.
At 14:00, France will meet Great Britain in Group B1, at 18:00 the Cayman Islands will face Haiti and at 20:30 Armenia takes on Hong Kong.
Schedule for the first day:
14:00 Slovakia – India (Tipsport arena)
14:00 France – Great Britain (small arena)
18:00 Czech Republic – Switzerland (Tipsport arena)
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18:00 Cayman Islands – Haiti (small arena)
20:30 Greece – Canada (Tipsport arena)
20:30 Armenia – Hong Kong (small arena)