Bhubaneswar: The Indian men’s hockey team, currently ranked fifth in the world, is all set to kickstart their highly anticipated FIH Pro League 2024-25 campaign at the iconic Kalinga Hockey Stadium here Saturday.
Led by Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna awardee Harmanpreet Singh, the Indian squad will open their campaign with two thrilling matches against World No. 7 Spain February 15 and 16, followed by intense clashes against World No. 4 Germany February 18 and 19.
India’s campaign will open at home, thus offering a prime opportunity for the team to showcase their recent momentum. Following their encounters with Germany, India will take on Ireland February 21 and 22, before facing the formidable World No. 2 England February 24 and 25.
With their bronze medal triumph at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Harmanpreet Singh-led side has proven their mettle on the international stage. The team was last seen in action during a two-match Test series at home against Germany in October 2024, where India bounced back from a 2-0 defeat in the first game to defeat the visitors 5-3 in the second. Though Germany won the series via shootout, the competitive performances added confidence to India’s preparations for the FIH Pro League.
Earlier, India showcased their prowess by successfully defending their title at the Asian Champions Trophy 2024 in September, winning all their matches and cementing their position as one of Asia’s strongest teams.
Harmanpreet Singh will be joined by vice-captain Hardik Singh as they lead a well-balanced squad filled with both experience and youthful talent. Senior players such as Manpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Sumit, Sanjay, Jugraj Singh, and Vivek Sagar Prasad will form the backbone of the team while emerging stars like Araijeet Singh Hundal, Angad Bir Singh and Arshdeep Singh bring fresh energy and skill to the lineup.
“The team is fresh from some fantastic performances in the recently concluded Hockey India League. I am particularly happy to have seen Jugraj winning the top scorer award and this only means well for the Indian team as we have more firepower in our drag-flick,” expressed Harmanpreet on the eve of their opening encounter.
With a mix of seasoned campaigners and promising youngsters, India will be eager to make a strong start and challenge some of the world’s top teams in the tournament. Moreover, after finishing seventh in last year’s edition of the FIH Pro League, India will be determined to make a strong comeback this season. The team will aim to deliver an improved performance and clinch the top spot, a feat that carries the added reward of automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
He further elaborated, “This is an important year for us and Pro League truly marks the start of our new Olympic cycle and the international season. It’s an important year for us with World Cup qualification (Asia Cup 2025) coming up and Pro League gives us a great opportunity to test where we stand. We are upbeat about our campaign, Spain, Germany and England are strong teams and will take it match-by-match.”
Shedding light on the high-stake competition, chief coach Craig Fulton said, “The next few days will be more like the Olympic Games, with back-to-back matches which is why we have chosen a bigger squad. Since we are starting our campaign here, performance will be on our mind more than ranking points. The other teams are coming here already having played a few matches in Europe, so our focus will be on doing well and winning matches.”
IANS
