PREVIEW-
India will take on New Zealand in the opening game at the FIH Men’s Hockey Pro league 2022-2023 on October 28 at Bhubaneswar, which is also the venue for the men’s World Cup 2023.
After New Zealand, the Indian men will take on Spain in the next game on Sunday, followed by return fixtures against New Zealand on November 4 and Spain on November 6.
“It’s been busy last couple of weeks preparing for the four games we will play in the Pro League and the five-matches against Australia in Adelaide in a Test Series next month,” said chief coach Graham Reid.
“All these matches are part of our preparations for the World Cup. Our goal of course is to play our best hockey but we want to be better in our attacking, we want to try a few new things in the way we execute our attack. We are looking forward to these games.”
Captain for the upcoming matches, Harmanpreet Singh, said India would look to replicate their last season’s performance in the new one. India finished a creditable third in the last season of FIH Pro League.
“Right from the first match we want to build the right momentum into the new season. These are extremely important matches for us ahead of the big event in January,” Harmanpreet added.
Speaking about facing India at home, New Zealand Head Coach Greg Nicol said, “With the World Cup happening here in the next few months, playing these away games in Pro League matches in Odisha is a massive plus so our players can understand the atmosphere and the conditions here.”
“India is performing consistently in all major tournaments, they did well in the Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games. We need to be on top of our game if have to do well against a team like India.”
New Zealand opted out of last season’s Pro League due to COVID-related travel restrictions, and coach Nicol said it is a fresh start for the Black Sticks.
“Missing out on the Pro League last year was a big setback, having International exposure is very important for us. But we don’t want to look too much into the past and focus on this season, we just need to work on going up the chain from being one of the bottom-ranked teams in the League,” Nicol added.
-PTI
