Germany Women's Hockey team arrived on Tuesday in Bhubaneswar ahead of the double-header against the hosts India in the FIH Hockey Pro League 2021/22, scheduled to take place on March 12 and 13 here at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium.
The team led by Lisa Nolte expressed delight at the prospect of playing India at the Kalinga Stadium.
"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.
She further added, "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."
The World No. 5 German side will play their first FIH Pro League game since October 2021. Speaking about the team's preparedness, Germany Women's Head Coach Akim Bouchouchi said," After the last Pro League games in October, girls had a break, and then they played the indoor season with the clubs. It's a big event in Germany. We had only one camp of preparation. But at this moment, we needed big motivation to start the new year with exciting events like Germany coming to India for Pro League games."
"It's the first time Germany Women's team will play games here in India in a couple of years. We are very curious about the atmosphere in the stadium, and the games against the Indian Women's Team. So, we are very happy to be here," Germany Women's Head Coach Akim Bouchouchi concluded.
The double-header between India and Germany will be played on Saturday and Sunday.
( With inputs from ANI )
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