Indian men’s hockey team will resume their campaign in the FIH Pro League with an away match against Argentina on 10 April, 2021. However the FIH Hockey Pro League _ the annual global home and away league involving the best international teams, both Men and Women _ will resume on 22 September, 2020 with Germany taking on Belgium.
India have played six games in three ties so far – all at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar. The Indian men would then complete their European commitments, playing six games against Great Britain, Spain and Germany (two each) over a period of 12 days in May before returning for the last two games against New Zealand.
India is currently placed fourth with 10 points, same as Argentina but with two games in hand and a better goal difference. In their their last Pro-League match on February 22, India beat former world champions Australia 3-1 in shootout to earn a bonus point.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) today confirmed the new schedule for the men and women competitions, which, as announced on 24 April, have been extended until June 2021 (instead of June 2020 as initially planned) after they were stopped in March of this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic.
The calendar has been established in cooperation and agreement between the 11 participating National Associations (NAs) taking part in the second edition of the FIH Hockey Pro League and the FIH. In such a challenging period and with a very busy hockey calendar in 2021 due to the rescheduled Tokyo Olympic Games, Continental Championships and domestic league competitions, finalising the schedule was made possible thanks to all parties showing solidarity and a willingness to compromise to complete the 2020 FIH Hockey Pro League season.
Around one third of the planned matches were completed between January and early March, with Belgium and Argentina currently leading the Men’s and Women’s standings respectively. FIH will continue to closely monitor the global evolution of the COVID-19 situation, with the safety of athletes, fans and everyone involved being top priority.
INDIA MATCHES (REVISED SCHEDULE):
April 10 (Saturday): India vs Argentina (1.30 pm), Tucuman
April 11 (Sunday): India vs Argentina (1.30 pm), Tucuman
May 8 (Saturday): India vs Great Britain (6.30 pm), London
May 9 (Sunday): India vs Great Britain (5.30 pm), London
May 12 (Wednesday): India vs Spain (2.30 pm), Valencia
May 13 (Thursday): India vs Spain (2.30 pm), Valencia
May 18 (Tuesday): India vs Germany (? pm), Berlin
May 19 (Wednesday): India vs Germany (? pm), Berlin
May 29 (Saturday): India vs New Zealand (7.00 pm), Bhubaneswar
May 30 (Sunday): India vs New Zealand (7.00 pm), Bhubaneswar
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PHOTO: Indian players celebrate after scoring a goal against Australia in their FIH Pro-League match in Bhubaneswar on 22 February, 2020.