Indian men's and women's hockey teams leave for their respective Belgium, England tours

The Indian men's and women's hockey teams left from the Kempegowda International Airport here on Sunday evening to take part in their respective Belgium and England tours.

The men's team will be playing a total of five matches against Belgium and Spain in Antwerp, Belgium, scheduled from September 26 to October 3, while the women's team will be playing five matches against Great Britain in Marlow, England from September 27 to October 4.

"It is a great opportunity for our team to address the key areas in our game before we play against Russia in the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers Odisha in November. We have some experienced players returning into the side, and I believe playing against the World Cup and Euro Championship winners Belgium will be a great test for our team," said men's team skipper Manpreet Singh.

"We will also play against world number eight Spain in two matches, which should also give us an opportunity to try out our various combinations and tactics before the all-important Qualifiers," he added.

The Indian men's team will start their tour of Belgium with their first match against Belgium on September 26, following which they will play two matches against Spain on September 28 and 29 at the same venue. The India team will then face world number two Belgium again in two matches which will be played on October 1 and 3.

Meanwhile, the Indian women's team skipper R will be leading a comparatively well-settled unit when her team takes on Great Britain.

"We have a fantastic group of players who have played together for a consistent period. We have worked on some key areas and tactics in our National Camp here in Bengaluru over the past three weeks, and we are looking forward to put everything to use in the upcoming matches against the hosts Great Britain," R said.

"It will be an interesting battle for us, as Great Britain are quite similar to the USA team, whom we play in the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers Odisha in November, and it will help in giving us a better idea about how we should approach the Qualifiers," she added.

The team will be playing their first game of the five matches series against Great Britain on September 27 in Marlow, England.

( With inputs from ANI )