FIH Pro League: India to play the Netherlands on April 8 and 9

The Indian women's hockey team's next FIH Pro League assignment will be against World No.1 team, the Netherlands. India and the Netherlands will play two matches on April 8 and 9 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

India and the Netherlands were originally scheduled to play in February, however, the matches had to be postponed over the Dutch team's intercontinental travel advice from the KNHB (Royal Dutch Hockey Association) Medical Committee and the NOC medical staff.

How have the Netherlands and India fared in the FIH Pro League so far?

The Netherlands have played four matches in the ongoing FIH Hockey Pro League. They beat Belgium 2-0 and 3-1 in October and November last year followed by back-to-back 1-0 and 3-2 (via a shoot-out) wins against Spain in February this year.

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India, on the other hand, have played six matches. They beat China 7-1 and 2-1 in Muscat followed by a 2-1 win and a 3-4 loss against Spain in February 2022. They recently beat Germany 1-1 (3-0 in the shoot-out) after the visitors gained an extra point, having won the shootout 2-1 in the first match.

India and the Netherlands have previously met at the Olympic Games in Tokyo last year in their group stage match. The Indian hockey team were outplayed 1-5 at the time. Incidentally, the Netherlands went on to win the Olympic Gold medal.

Welcoming the Netherlands' decision to travel to India for FIH Pro League matches, Hockey India President Gyanendro Ningombam said,

"As hosts, we are happy to welcome the Dutch National Women's Team to participate in the FIH Pro League matches here in India in April. No doubt, there is a lot of excitement among the Indian team players as they will be playing the World No.1 squad at home for the first time."

India's performance in FIH Pro League satisfactory

The Indian women's team chief coach Janneke Schopman, meanwhile, reflected on the Indian team's performance in the Pro League and said the focus is to improve and do better with every passing game.

The Indian chief coach added that the focus will now be on winning matches in regulation time and finishing things off rather than taking the game to a shootout.

With 12 points from six games, the Indian women's team are in second spot in the Pro League standings. They will next play a double-header against England at the Kalinga Stadium on April 2 and 3.