India had a walk in the park in the game against Japan in the semi-final game apart from the first five minutes, Japan had scored the first goal in the game but the Indians did make a good comeback into the game to ensure a good win by a margin of 7-2 goals to storm into the final. On the other hand, South Africa defeated the USA in a closely-fought battle earlier on Friday to make it to the summit clash.

India had defeated the South Africans in the World Cup game last year at this very venue and Saturday being a holiday and state festival of Raja, it is expected that the Bhubaneswar crowd will be loudest in the tournament on Saturday. The Indian fans will want the same result that they had against the African nation in December 2018. Graham Reid will want to test his strength and ensure that the preparations are good ahead of the FIH Olympic Qualifiers which will be played later this year.