FIH Pro League: Indian women's hockey team all set for German challenge

The Indian women's hockey team will take on Germany in a two-legged tie in the FIH Pro League at the iconic Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on Saturday (March 12).

Following one win and one loss to the Spanish hockey team, the Women in Blue are all set to embark upon their German challenge. In the first match, the hosts got the better of Spain 2-1. However, Spain bounced back to overwhelm India 4-3 during their second encounter.

Team India faced Germany during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics where they suffered a 2-0 defeat in the Pool A match. India and Germany have squared off five times since 2006. Germany lead the head-to-head 3-2 against India.

Ahead of their first match against Germany, Indian skipper Savita Punia elaborated on the team's preparations. In an official release, Savita said:

"We made a few mistakes in the second game against Spain. In the break we received between these two games, we have worked on those errors. We know Germany have a very strong defence, so we have planned how we can create attacking opportunities. We worked on the areas we need to improve upon. Our strength has always been attacking hockey - so we worked a lot on taking penalty corners and defending penalty corners."

She added:

"Since we have started playing against stronger teams, we have learned the importance of mental strength. It is a skill as important as your skills with a hockey stick. How we adapt to pressure situations can determine the results. We are happy to be given opportunities to face off against a strong team such as Germany and we hope we can showcase the strengths that we have worked on in training."

FIH Pro League: Schedule & Match Timings

Match: India vs Germany

Date: March 12, 2022 Timings: 5:00 pm IST

Match: India vs Germany

Date: March 13, 2022 Timings: 5:00 pm IST

Streaming details:

All FIH Pro League 2022 matches are being telecast live on Star Sports Select 2 and Star Sports Select 2 HD. The matches are also available for live streaming on the Hotstar app.