 Welcome to NewsClick. I know what you're thinking and you're right, our graphics team has become much better. This backdrop, our studio, doesn't it all look real? Whom are kidding? We're in Bhubaneswar and this is our show. So this is Kalinga Stadium, the venue for the FIH hockey World Cup, where the atmosphere has been simply electrifying the last few days when the matches are being played. Inside, the best hockey talent in the world are playing their hearts out for victory. India is matching them, not just matching them, but beating them in their game and quite spectacularly. But the real atmosphere of this entire hockey festival is being generated outside where the fans just come in in waves and they're just creating an atmosphere which is unheard of for hockey across the world. It only happens in India, guys, and this episode of NewsClick's hockey show is dedicated to the fans who are making this festival a grand success, a grand spectacle. Here to clear the team, I mean, who happens to be actually direct rivals against the home team in India. So Yves, what do you think about the chances of your team? I think this year, we check back and forth all the time, but now I think that we have to make a good reason. We cannot follow the team intervention team all the time. I mean, it's the first time we come for a big competition. I mean, we haven't been in Rio. We like very much India, so that's why we decided to come here for this welcome. And you mentioned that you would be missing the ladder out of the tournament, so you won't probably see Belgium lift the trophy? Yeah, unfortunately, but we hope they will lift the trophy, of course, and we will follow them and we will see them on the period. We will follow their recent annual games. So the thing is, I don't know how you started following the sport, but one of the best things about watching sport is coming to the stadium. Of course, and see, what the stadium does, it's actually collecting the entire energy of not just the players out there, but the fans and it just focuses onto this small area and it's amazing the atmosphere that it creates. You can actually feel it on your skin, but imagine the fans who have come to India, they're all excited about it, they're painting their faces, they're getting the flags out, they're walking around shouting slogans, things like that, and they just want India to win today. India is an audience for hockey. You don't see crowds like this, you don't see face painting, you don't see trumpets, you don't see who's allies, you don't see this kind of stuff when this is happening. I mean this with the utmost respect for other countries. You don't see this happening in the Netherlands, in Belgium. I guess this is also a translation from that cricket fan thing because it all begins there, be it IPL, be it the national team playing, the face painting, the open show of patriotism, so to speak. But then we are openly emotive about such things, I feel, not exactly Germans maybe because German fans are very strong but they are not exactly the most emotive of fans. Now, while this is one end of the conversation, which is this open display of patriotism, the second thing is the financial implications this has on hockey as a sport. India's audience for the sport, when it comes to filling stadiums and I'm going to just go out on a limb and say even the broadcast audience, it's much bigger than what's going to happen in England, the Netherlands and Belgium, for example. Which makes India the epicenter of the sport when it comes to sustainability, financial. But then if you can get into that, if you are getting into that aspect then you can, finances is fine. It's actually a little bit tricky in this case, especially because we know for sure that many of these fans who are coming have not bought the tickets, it's all free passes that are going out there. So, filling up the stands, though it's a great sign, the game is attracting people and people do want to come but whether it is translating into a financial build-up for hockey or an industry for hockey, I doubt because the economics is slightly different here. Whereas, in the Netherlands for instance, everyone would be buying the tickets and going. You actually brought the, then you brought about a really intriguing fact, which means that the people who are coming into the stadium are only coming in because they have a free pass. Not exactly because yesterday I caught a fan and he, in fact, when the online sale happened he bought two tickets each for the entire duration, he distributed it among his family and kept the India matches for himself. And so, that is, so people are willing to buy it, it's not like it's an expensive ticket, people do buy ticket tickets also. So, that happens, but so what I feel is that maybe the organizers shouldn't encourage this free-pass thing. So, what I heard from the fan yesterday is that there is an official nexus around a sports event in Odisha which actually demands such the distribution of such free-pass. I guess the way to find this out is to go and talk to some fans. There is general excitement and the fans can't wait to go into the stadium. There are disappointed faces also, like for instance, your guest for a year who has not managed to get a ticket is willing to buy it, but tickets are not available. So, he is apparently very sad. What's the reason for coming today? You said that it's your first match day. Actually, India is now improving. The first match, India played against RSA, South Africa was amazing. The second match, the top-most team, Belgium also was amazing. That's why I actually sold the ticket from last three months but due to my time problem, I cannot see before matches. So, I am coming today to enjoy this match, India vs. Canada. Here we have Ranjit Mahapat and Bhavani Shankar from Bhaneegrahi from Bhubaneshwar. So, what is the looking ahead to the match? What do you feel? Obviously, it's an excitement match in India and Canada because this match has already been decided in the quarter-final. So, I am so much excited for today's match. So, did you come here for the first match before this? Yes, sir. When we came here for the first match, India played against South Africa from 5-0. We were very excited. So, hopefully, we will be excited even today that India will win today.