Bhubaneswar: Indian Men’s Hockey Team are all-set to take on New Zealand in the opening game at the FIH Men’s Hockey Pro league 2022-2023 which gets underway tomorrow at the iconic Kalinga Hockey Stadium, which is also the venue for the most-awaited FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar-Rourkela 2023.
Talking about their preparedness to take on New Zealand in game no.1, Indian Men’s Hockey Chief Coach Graham Reid said, “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.”
“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.”
“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. 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.
Please see attached images of Chief Coach Graham Reid and Harmanpreet Singh.
Telecast details:
- On 28th October from 1900 hrs IST, India Vs New Zealand will be telecasted live on Star Sports Select 2 SD + HD
- On 30th October from 1900 hrs IST, India Vs Spain will be telecasted live on Star Sports Select 2 SD + HD
- On 4th November from 1900 hrs IST, India Vs New Zealand will be telecasted live on Star Sports Select 2 SD + HD
- On 6th November from 1900 hrs IST, India Vs Spain will be telecasted live on Star Sports Select 2 SD + HD
- On 29th October at 1900 hrs, New Zealand Vs Spain will have deferred telecast on 30th October 2022 at 1500 hrs on Star Sports Select 1 SD+ HD
- On 5th November at 1900 hrs, New Zealand Vs Spain will have deferred
telecast on 6th Nov 2022 at 1300 hrs Star Sports Select 1 SD+ HD
Online tickets for FIH Hockey Pro League in Bhubaneswar can be bought from ticketgenie.in
