FIH Hockey Pro League 2022: "We are looking forward to playing against India" - Netherlands captain Yibbi Jansen

Tokyo Olympic gold medalists the Netherlands will square off against India in two FIH Pro League matches on April 8 and 9 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. The team arrived in India on Wednesday afternoon.

The Dutch are one of the teams to beat in the FIH Pro League as they have been clinical with their performances so far.

Netherlands skipper Yibbi Jansen said the team is looking forward to playing against India at the Kalinga Stadium.

"We are super excited to be here in India. We are ready for the experience and we had a lovely welcome. The ladies have played fairly well in the Olympics. They put up a good performance in recent matches and we are really looking forward to playing, especially with this team," Jansen said.

Read: FIH Pro League 2021/22: India vs Netherlands, women's squad, schedule and streaming details

Netherlands happy with their preparation for matches against India

The Netherlands, who are the World No 1, currently lead the FIH Pro League pool table with 17 points in six matches. They have registered five wins and a shootout win in their campaign so far.

Reflecting on the team's FIH Pro League performance so far, Jansen said:

"We are really happy to play all these international games against different countries and our performance has been good so far. We are happy with our game."

Meanwhile, Dutch team coach Joost Bitterling spoke about the team's preparedness ahead of the clash against India. The coach was happy with the team's training and hoped they would get their act together against India.

"I am happy with our preparation. We have a few young girls in the team. They trained last two weeks together and hopefully, we will get a strong plan for India and try to beat them at their home," Bitterling said.

The Dutch coach opined that the Indian women's hockey team are an improved lot and he expected a good contest between the two teams.

"I think they have improved in recent years. I saw their last match against Germany and they played really well and against Spain as well. I think it’s a really good opportunity for us to play against them," the coach added.