The sport’s governing body FIH on Tuesday said that this weekend’s Pro League double-header between the Indian men’s hockey team and Germany has been postponed following the COVID-19 outbreak at the visitors’ camp.
The matches were scheduled for March 12 and 13 in Bhubaneswar, but “have been postponed due to the high number of COVID cases affecting the German team.”
“FIH, Hockey India and Hockey Germany are already working closely to find alternate dates,” the International Hockey Federation (FIH) said in a statement.
The Indian men’s team’s campaign so far in the FIH Pro League has been a tumultuous one as they beat South Africa in both the matches but lost and won ties against France and Spain.
While the men’s matches were postponed, the international governing body said that the women’s match between India and Germany will go as planned at the Kalinga Stadium later this week.
The Germany women’s team arrived here on Tuesday and captain Lisa Nolte expressed happiness over the prospect of India playing at the Kalinga Stadium.
“We have never played at the Kalinga Stadium before, so we are very excited about it. It will be wonderful to play in such a big stadium and we are looking forward to it.”
“We definitely see India as a strong team, especially as they have done so well in the Tokyo Olympics, and playing at home is always an advantage. However, we don’t want to be bothered by that and go into the game with confidence.”
The world number 5 German player will play her first FIH Pro League match since October last year.
Germany women’s head coach Akim Bauchi said, “After the last Pro League games in October, the girls got a break, and then they played the indoor season with the clubs. It’s a big event in Germany. We only have one preparatory camp. Was.”
“But at this point in time, we needed great motivation to start the new year with exciting events like Germany coming to India for Pro League games.”
“This is the first time that the Germany women’s team will be playing a match here in India in a few years. We are very looking forward to the atmosphere of the stadium and the games against the Indian women’s team. So, we are very happy to be here.”
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