S2H Team

India’s women were given a gilt-edged opportunity to build towards the 2022 Asian Games with admission to Season 3 of the FIH Pro League commencing on October 13, 2021.

The FIH revealed on its website on Friday that India along with Spain will feature in the Pro League, coming in for Australia and New Zealand who have pulled out of all FIH events until July 2022 owing to Covid-19 related international travel restrictions set by their governments.

The FIH made it clear, however, that the replacements hold good only for this season. It also stated that Australia and New Zealand will return to the league for Season 4.

Season 3 of the Pro League commences with The Netherlands, World Cup, Olympic and defending champions take on Belgium on October 13.

The communiqué explained that, whenever possible, the women’s squads of India and Spain will play on the same dates and venues as their male counterparts who are already part of the global home-and-away league which involves the cream of world hockey.

The Indian women created a sensation at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where they punched above their weight to finish fourth, narrowly missing out on a bronze medal after a heart-breaking loss to defending champions Great Britain 3-4.

The performance was greeted with huge acclaim back home and raised the stocks of the women’s game in the country.

With aspirations high for the 2024 Paris Olympics, the team could do with some high-profile competition and the FIH Pro League is nothing short of a boon.

Given that the Asian Games are crucial in that the gold medalists at Hangzhou, China, book a direct berth to Paris, the Indian women will relish the opportunity to fine tune their challenge by playing the best in the world.

The Spanish women, ranked sixth, lost to Great Britain in a shootout to miss a semifinal berth in Tokyo and playing the FIH Pro League would be a shot-in-the-arm to their efforts to climb into the top echelons.

Argentina, Belgium, China, England, Germany, India, Netherlands, Spain and USA comprise the FIH Pro League Season 3 field.

India, ranked eighth, take on the might of the Netherlands, the top ranked nation, in their opening match of a double header slated for the February 19-20 weekend, an away match. India conclude their engagements in the nine-nation league with a double header in the USA on June 21-22, 2022.

Curiously, the India-China double header is absent in the fixtures.

FIH CEO Thierry Weil said, “It’s wonderful to welcome such great teams as India and Spain for the next edition of the FIH Hockey Pro League, especially after their brilliant performance in Tokyo. This is great for the athletes and great for the fans! On behalf of FIH, I’d like to extend our sincerest thanks to Hockey India and the Royal Spanish Hockey Federation for having accepted our invitation.”

Hockey India President Gyanendro Ningombam said: “We are absolutely delighted that the Indian Women’s Hockey Team will participate in the forthcoming edition of the FIH Hockey Pro League. Their participation will not only give them an opportunity to compete against the best teams of the world, but it will also help us increase the fan base for the Indian Women’s Team. With the Asian Games being held in 2022, getting to play strong teams of the world earlier in the year will certainly be a great platform for our teams to get the right exposure before the all-important Asian Games which is also an Olympic Qualification event.”

Royal Spanish Hockey Federation President Santiago Deó said: “It is great news for Spanish hockey. The participation of the women’s team in the FIH Hockey Pro League will enable our team to play against the best teams in the world. This will also make them better prepare for the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup in Spain and Netherlands 2022.”

INDIAN WOMEN’S MATCH SCHEDULE (HOSTS NAMED FIRST)

19/2/2022 : Netherlands vs India

20/2/2022: Netherlands vs India

26/2/2022: India vs Spain

27/2/2022: India vs Spain

12/3/2022: India vs Germany

13/3/2022: India vs Germany

2/4/2022: India vs England

2/4/2022: India vs England

11/6/2022: Belgium vs India

12/6/2022: Belgium vs India

18/6/2022: India vs Argentina

19/6/2022: India vs Argentina

21/6/2022: USA vs India

22/6/2022: USA vs India