An uphill task awaits India in this year's women's hockey World Cup in Argentina where they have been clubbed alongside reigning World and Olympic champions the Netherlands and formidable teams like Germany and Australia.
Japan and New Zealand are the other two teams in Pool A along with India.
The Indian eves will open their campaign against the mighty Dutch girls on August 30 followed by matches against Australia (September 1), Germany (September 3), Japan (September 5) and New Zealand (September 7).
The Pool B, meanwhile, consists of hosts Argentina, China, Spain, England, Korea and South Africa.
The opening match of the event, to be held in Rosario, Argentina from August 29 to September 11, will witness Asian rivalry between China and Korea, followed by hosts Argentina taking on South Africa and Spain-England encounter.
The top two teams of each pool will proceed to the semi-finals, which are scheduled on September 9. The final will be played on September 11.
Schedule:
August 29: Pool B - China vs Korea, Spain vs England, B Argentina vs South Africa
August 30: Pool A - The Netherlands vs India, Germany vs New Zealand, Australia vs Japan
August 31: Pool B - China vs England, South Africa vs Spain, Argentina vs Korea
September 1: Pool A - India vs Australia, The Netherlands vs New Zealand, Germany vs Japan
September 2: Pool B - South Africa vs China, England vs Korea, Spain vs Argentina
September 3: Pool A - India vs Germany, Australia vs The Netherlands, Japan vs New Zealand
September 4: Pool B - England vs South Africa, Korea vs Spain, China vs Argentina
September 5: Pool A - India vs Japan, Germany vs The Netherlands, New Zealand vs Australia
September 6: Pool B - Spain vs China, Korea vs South Africa, Argentina vs England
September 7: Pool A - India vs New Zealand, The Netherlands vs Japan, Australia vs Germany
September 8: Rest Day
September 9: Classification 11-12 6th Pool A vs 6th Pool B, Semi-final 1st Pool A vs 2nd Pool B, Semi-final 1st Pool B vs 2nd Pool A
September 10: Classification 9-10 5th Pool A vs 5th Pool B, Classification 7-8 4th Pool A vs 4th Pool B, Classification 5-6 3rd Pool A vs 3rd Pool B
September 11: Bronze medal match and FINAL.
