The first Indian city to host the Hockey World Cup was Mumbai (then called Bombay) in 1982. The inaugural Hockey World Cup was in 1971 but held in Barcelona, Spain due to political tensions between India and Pakistan. India first hosted the tournament in 1982 in Mumbai, marking the country's debut as a World Cup host city. Since then, India has hosted the World Cup several times, including in Delhi (2010), Bhubaneswar (2018), and Bhubaneswar-Rourkela (2023), but Mumbai was the pioneering host city in India for the event.