Picture Credit: @FIH_Hockey Twitter
The third wave of COVID-19 is on a downward slope in India, but it is still affecting a lot of sporting schedules. The same happened with the matches between the men's team of India and Germany at the FIH Pro League. The matches scheduled for 12 and 13 March have been postponed amid rising COVID-19 cases in the German camp.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) informed through a release on Tuesday. "The FIH Hockey Pro League matches between India and Germany (Men), initially scheduled on 12 and 13 March in Bhubaneswar, India, have been postponed due to a high number of COVID cases affecting the German team. FIH, Hockey India, and Hockey Germany are already working together to find alternative dates," it said in its release.
However, the matches between the women's teams of both nations will be played as per the schedule. "The Women’s matches between India and Germany will be played as planned this weekend at the Kalinga Stadium, in Bhubaneswar," FIH added.
Talking about India Men's campaign so far in the tournament, it has been something like a see-saw ride. The Manpreet Singh-led team emerged victorious against South Africa in both the matches but had a win and a loss in the ties against France and Spain.
German Women excited about Playing at Kalinga Stadium
While the Men's teams await the fate of the game, the women's teams will lock horns on the same dates at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar. The Germany Women's team reached the city on Tuesday and skipper Lisa Nolte expressed delight at the prospect of playing India at their home ground. However, she cleared to her girls to not get intimidated by this fact.
"We have never played at the Kalinga Stadium before, so we are very excited about it. It will be amazing to play at such a big stadium, and we are looking forward to it," Lisa Nolte stated. "We definitely see India as a strong team, especially they performed so well at the Tokyo Olympics, and playing at the home ground is always an advantage. However, we don't want to be unsettled by this and enter the game confidently," added Nolte.