Indian hockey is back in Odisha just two weeks after the conclusion of the Hockey India League, with both men's and women's national teams participating in the home leg of FIH Pro League in Bhubaneswar from February 15.
All the matches will take place at the Kalinga Stadium.
What's the format?
The Pro League is hockey's top-tier championship, organised by the world-governing body FIH for the top nine countries in men's and women's hockey. The season is played across the venues of all participating nations (except Ireland this time) and each team will play the other twice. The team with the most points after 16 matches will take home the trophy.
Like in the previous season, the winners of both men's and women's competitions will confirm their spot in the 2026 World Cup. Australia (M) and Netherlands (W) were the champions last year. Meanwhile, the teams that finish last will be relegated to the second-tier FIH Nations Cup.
What's India's schedule?
The Indian women's team will face the likes of England, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands in two-legged matches. The men's team will be up against Spain, Germany, England and Ireland.
FIH PL Schedule: (All times in IST)
Feb. 15: India (W) vs. England at 5:15 PM; India (M) vs. Spain at 7:30 PM.
Feb. 16: India (W) vs. England at 5:15 PM; India (M) vs. Spain at 7:30 PM.
Feb. 18: India (W) vs. Spain at 5:15 PM; India (M) vs. Germany at 7:30 PM.
Feb. 19: India (M) vs. Germany at 5:15 PM; India (W) vs. Spain at 7:30 PM.
Feb. 21: India (W) vs Germany at 5:15 PM; India (M) vs Ireland at 7:30 PM.
Feb. 22: India (W) vs Germany at 5:15 PM; India (M) vs Ireland at 7:30 PM.
Feb. 24: India (W) vs Netherlands at 5:15 PM; India (M) vs England at 7:30 PM.
Feb. 25: India (W) vs Netherlands at 5:15 PM; India (M) vs England at 7:30 PM.
What to watch out for in the Indian women's team?
No big surprises by head coach Harendra Singh - who has picked an experienced squad which includes a few players who performed well in the Hockey India League. Salima Tete, as has been the case since Harendra took charge, will lead the team. Veteran Vandana Katariya didn't feature in the Asian Champions Trophy-winning campaign, but returns to the side in a boost to the forward line-up.
Also Read: Vandana, Sushila use WHIL to link the present and future of Indian women's hockey
The team will be up against the likes of England, Netherlands, Spain and Germany who are better than India even though they will probably experiment with different players and different formations. Harendra guided the team to Asian Champions Trophy title in Rajgir, Bihar, last year but these opponents are a level above India.
The issue with the team, which is a recurring theme, is scoring goals. They did score plenty of goals in Rajgir but India struggled to convert their chances against bigger European teams. Thus, the onus is on the likes of Rutuja and Sonam coming into the team and helping by scoring goals. Rutuja scored twice under pressure for Odisha Warriors in the final of the WHIL while Sonam ended up being the highest Indian scorer in the league with four goals for Soorma. Sonam has been named in the reserves, but she's expected to play a few matches in the upcoming leg.
There's also the problem of penalty corner conversion. Deepika is the first-choice dragflicker followed by Manisha Chauhan, but both didn't have much of an impact in the women's HIL. Since he took charge, Harendra has focused on improving the team's penalty corner woes. Now that his side is facing top sides at home, it's a great opportunity for India to sort out the problem and find consistency in converting dragflick chances.
What to watch out for the men's team?
Head coach Craig Fulton has more or less stuck with his preferred options, but has also picked youngsters who have performed well in the Hockey India League. Arshdeep Singh, Shilanand Lakra, Boby Dhami Singh, Angad Bir Singh, Rajinder Singh and Yashdeep Siwach are some of the names who impressed in the HIL and will now play for India. It's a big squad and considering Fulton's side will play eight matches, it's expected that everybody will get opportunities to test themselves against quality teams.
It's important for the aforementioned youngsters to adapt to Fulton's methods as quickly as possible. Fulton prefers control, discipline and counter-attack over aggressive running. The players who impressed in the HIL were afforded a system that suited their style but for the national team, they need to adapt. Arshdeep was the find of the HIL and his attacking style complemented Hyderabad Toofans who made it to the final. Since this will be his first foray into the senior team, it might take time for him to adjust to the new system, where the philosophy is 'defend to win'.
A few weeks back during the HIL, Fulton spoke to ESPN about new players adapting to his methods. "I think we have a philosophy of playing. It's 'defend to win' and then we really need to get back on the same page. We really need to think as an Indian outfit, not as eight, seven, eight different franchises. You need time, you need meetings, you need a vision and you need to get them excited again to play," Fulton said.
Elaborating further, Fulton said, "I think results in India is what we want. We want to play well, we want to play a nice brand. We also want to show that we can control games. There's not too much control in some of these games," he said about the HIL. Controlling games is key for Fulton and the new players will need to take this philosophy to heart.
Another issue is pertaining to Krishan Pathak who's now the first choice goalkeeper, but his form during the HIL was ordinary. He was part of Kalinga Lancers who scored the most number of goals in the league phase but also conceded the most. It's unlikely that he will get as exposed defensively in the India colours when compared to the Lancers' games but his form is also the one to watch out for in the upcoming matches. Both Suraj Karkera and Princedeep Singh will look to make their chances count and become mainstays with the Indian team.