![\"\"](\"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/H-1-282x300.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n~ Bhubaneswar holds special meaning for Van Doren, who became a world champion with Belgium here in 2018 for the first time ~<\/p>\n
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Bhubaneswar,17\/1\/2026 ( Odisha Samachar \/ Rajat Mohapatra )-\u00a0When the Vedanta Kalinga Lancers walk out onto the turf in Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Saturday, they will not just be defending their position at the top of the table \u2014 they will be stepping into an atmosphere their Captain, Arthur Van Doren, believes is unlike any other in world hockey.<\/p>\n
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The final leg of the Men\u2019s Hero Hockey India League 2025\u201326 begins in the Odisha capital, a city that has quietly built a reputation as Indian hockey\u2019s spiritual home. For Van Doren, the return is both strategic and deeply personal.<\/p>\n
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\u201cObviously, we know that the final phase will be here in Bhubaneswar, in Kalinga\u2019s home city. Bhubaneswar and Odisha in general is a hockey-loving environment. The people that come and watch here are hockey-loving people, and we are very much looking forward to playing here, especially since we are doing well,\u201d the Belgian defender said.<\/p>\n
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The Lancers have set the pace this season, but Van Doren insists the focus remains on evolution rather than entitlement.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe started off very well in this competition and we want to improve, grow and make sure that we reach our full potential to have a chance to be successful,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is hopefully only the beginning, and this is the standard we want to push and push and push.\u201d<\/p>\n
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If form is the foundation, the Bhubaneswar crowd may well be the final layer. Van Doren speaks of the Kalinga Stadium stands as a force that alters the physical rhythm of the game.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI think it gives you a boost, that\u2019s for sure. Knowing that the crowd here will be very loud, it will only help us. It makes the hard metres a little bit less hard,\u201d he said with a smile.<\/p>\n
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Later, he distilled the feeling into a single word \u2014 impressive.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIf there are 10,000 people in Indian stadium, specially in venues like Kalinga Stadium, it feels like 15,000. In Europe, 10,000 feels like 10 sometimes. Here, they scream for two,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
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Yet home advantage also brings expectation, something Van Doren confronts head-on as Captain. \u201cPressure is a privilege,\u201d he said simply. \u201cThe most important thing is to do the things that are going well for us and build on that, not look too much at outside things. Hockey is a team sport \u2014 if you have a bad day, you\u2019ve got 10 other friends there for you.\u201d![\"\"](\"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/H-3-300x237.jpeg\")
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His connection with Bhubaneswar extends beyond the league calendar. It was here, in 2018, that Belgium lifted their first Hockey World Cup \u2014 a moment etched permanently in his memory.<\/p>\n
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\u201cFor me, it\u2019s a very special environment. We won our first World Cup here with Belgium, so I\u2019m especially fond of this ground. People here really love hockey \u2014 they follow it, they know about it. As a foreign player, it makes it very nice to come here because you feel it\u2019s followed even more than maybe in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Inside the Lancers\u2019 camp, Van Doren has been equally struck by the hunger of Indian players, particularly the younger ones shaping the future of the side.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThey are constantly busy with hockey \u2014 it\u2019s their number one priority,\u201d he said. \u201cPlayers like Deepak Pradhan and Rosan Kujur have developed a lot in one year. Rosan\u2019s understanding of when to attack, when to defend, when to accelerate, when to calm down has grown so much, and he\u2019s still far from his top.\u201d<\/p>\n
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He also singled out Dilpreet Singh\u2019s artistry and stated, \u201cHe has very silky skills, which is rare in hockey nowadays.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Away from tactics and training, the captain has found simpler comforts in Odisha \u2014 most notably at the dining table. \u201cI have always loved Indian cuisine and my favourite food is dal makhani with roti,\u201d he revealed.<\/p>\n
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As the league\u2019s decisive phase begins, the Lancers will rely on more than just points and patterns. They will lean into the noise, the colour, the memory of packed stands and a city that breathes hockey.<\/p>\n
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All matches of the Hero Hockey India League will be broadcast live on Sony Sports Ten 1, Sony Sports Ten 3 and DD Sports. The matches will also be live-streamed on Waves and the Hockey India League YouTube channel.<\/p>\n
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~ Bhubaneswar holds special meaning for Van Doren, who became a world champion with Belgium here in 2018 for the first time ~ Bhubaneswar,17\/1\/2026 ( Odisha Samachar \/ Rajat Mohapatra )-\u00a0When the Vedanta Kalinga Lancers walk out onto the turf in Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Saturday, they will not just be defending their …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":55950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[43],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55948"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55948"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55952,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55948\/revisions\/55952"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}