The Netherlands, the number one ranked and Australia, ranked second women’s hockey team in the world, arrived at the Biju Patnaik International Airport here on Wednesday to begin their Hockey Pro League campaign.

“The Pro League is a crucial fixture for us as it serves as a preparatory event for the Paris Olympics. We are looking forward to it and are excited for what is to come. We have been training in Delhi for the last six days and we have a practice match against China before we get right into it.” said the Netherlands’ Captain Maria Verschoor commented after landing in Bhubaneswar.

“We will be up against some good teams; we haven’t played them in a while. But China, Australia, and India are all exceptional teams and we are looking forward to taking them on,” she added.

Echoing similar thoughts Australia’s Captain Grace Stewart said, “The League is super important for us, we will face a lot of good quality teams here, and it is a great opportunity to bring things together as a team and get some matches under our belt. We have been training together for a month now and we are excited to get going. All the teams in the League are tough, China and the USA have been in good form and it’s always tough to play against the Dutch, we are ready for some exciting matches against everyone.”

The League 2023/24 (Women) is scheduled to take place at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar from 3rd to 9th February, before moving to the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela, where the league will continue from 12th to 18th February.

Five national teams – India, China, the United States of America, the Netherlands, and Australia – will participate in the India leg of the FIH Hockey Pro League 2023/24, facing each other once in Bhubaneswar and once in Rourkela.

Australia will play their first match of the FIH Hockey Pro League 2023/24 on 3rd February, against China, followed by a contest with the United States on 6 February. They will then take on India on 7th February and the Netherlands on 9th February.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands will kick off their campaign on 3rd February, in a battle against the United States. Their next match will be against India on 4th February, followed by a clash with China on 6th February. They will go on to face Australia in the last match of the Bhubaneswar leg, on 9th February.