Following the announcement and confirmation from the International Hockey Federation on Friday evening, Hockey India is confirmed to host Germany, who are the current table-toppers in the ongoing FIH Hockey Men's Pro League, for the double-header on the April 14th to 15th 2022 to be played at the iconic Kalinga Hockey Stadium, Bhubaneswar in Odisha.
The last time the two teams met was during the Bronze Medal match at the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 where India beat Germany 5-4 in a thrilling encounter to win the historic Olympic medal for the first time in 41 years.
The Indian Men's team and Germany were originally scheduled to play on March 12th and 13th, however, the matches had to be postponed after several members of the German squad tested positive for Covid-19.
Welcoming the German Men's Hockey Team's decision to travel to India for the matches now scheduled for the April 14th and 15th, Hockey India President Gyanendro Ningombam said, "As hosts, we are happy to welcome the German National Men's Team to participate in the FIH Pro League matches here in Bhubaneswar, Odisha in April. No doubt, there is a lot of excitement among the Indian hockey fans to watch these two teams who played the Bronze Medal match at the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020."
The German Men's team have thus far played eight matches out of which they have won five, won a game in a shootout and lost two matches while India, who are placed second in the pool standings behind Germany by only a point, have also played eight matches, won five, and lost two matches in regulation time and lost one shootout.
( With inputs from ANI )
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