FIH Pro League: Spain coach wary of Indian test

India and Spain will continue their hockey rivalry when they meet each other in the FIH Pro League double-header this weekend at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

The Indian team are on a splendid run in the FIH Pro League and won both their matches against China.

Spain, who are competing in the FIH Pro League for the first time, played their first two games against The Netherlands, losing one and playing out a draw in the second.

While they suffered a 0-1 loss in their first game, they managed to push their second game to a shoot-out with a 2-2 draw, getting one point in the process.

Read: FIH Pro League: Savita Punia confident of India's preparation

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Spanish head coach Adrian Lock said that while he was relatively happy with the performance against the Dutch, his team will not be taking India lightly.

"We have changed our team and are looking at a new structure. So, we are still learning. When we play India, we will be looking to improve. It would be dangerous to consider India as less dangerous than the Netherlands because of the amazing skills, the technical and individual talent that is spread throughout the country. I think India will really put our defence to a test, maybe even more so than the Dutch. We hope we can compete to the best of our abilities in the two games," Lock said.

India and Spain resume rivalry

This will be India's first meeting against Spain since the four-match series in January 2019.

Spanish hockey team skipper Georgina Oliva echoed her coach's sentiments and said that her team has to keep a tight defense to get a positive result against India.

"We expect India to be really strong. They have already had an excellent tournament so far. They have really improved over the years. We have to really focus on defensive strategies. It's going to be a really exciting match," Oliva said.