The FIH Pro League 2024-25, which started on 30 November, is the sixth edition of the league. The league is a field hockey championship for men’s national teams. The events will conclude on 29 June.
The FIH 2024-25 will also act as a direct qualifier for the Hockey World Cup 2026. According to the FIH regulations, in “mini-tournaments”, where each team will face one another twice if one of the matches gets cancelled, the winning team of the other match will get double points and earn a direct entry to the World Cup.
The league starts on 15th February and will end on 25 February. India will start its campaign by competing with teams like Spain, Germany and England. Hockey India announced the Indian Men’s Hockey squad after they announced the Women’s team 2 days ago. The matches will take place at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium, Harmanpreet Singh has been named the Captain and Hardik Singh will be the Vice-Captain.
Indian Men’s Hockey Team: Squad Analysis
Indian Men’s Hockey Team has not won a single title in the league in 6 years of the competition. However, they were placed second in 2021–22 and third twice in the 2020-21 and 2023-24 editions. Hockey being the national game of India, fans have high expectations from the team this year, with the team doing relatively well in recent years.
The team won a bronze medal in the Paris Olympics 2024, marking their second consecutive victory and 13th overall. They also won gold in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, against Japan in 2023.
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Now let’s take a look at the team:
Goalkeepers: Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Suraj Karkera and Princedeep Singh
Defenders: Jarmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Harmanpreet Singh, Sumit, Sanjay, Jugraj Singh, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Varun Kumar and Yashdeep Siwach
Midfielders: Rajkumar Pal, Shamsher Singh, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Nilakanta Sharma, Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh and Rajinder Singh
Forwards: Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Angad Bir singh, Boby singh Dhami, Shilanand Lakra, Dilpreet Singh, Araijeet Singh Hundal, Uttam Singh, Arshdeep Singh
Harmanpreet Singh’s captaincy has led India to the Olympic bronze medal in 2024, where he was the top-scorer with 10 goals in 8 matches. He was also a major contributor to India’s victory in the Asian Games of 2023. He scored 2 goals against Japan in the finals. India also won 2 Asian Championships under his leadership in 2023 and 2024. He holds the record for winning the FIH Player of the Year Award twice. He is also nominated this year for the title. He recently received the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in 2024, making him a well-deserving captain.
Coach’s Perspective:
“Extremely happy with the squad we have selected for the upcoming Bhubaneswar leg matches of the FIH Pro League 2024-25. I believe this team can win us games, perform in harmony and most importantly play an impressive brand of hockey. Looking forward to training with the players in the camp and starting our Pro League campaign on the right note.” said Craig Fulton, the head coach of the Indian Men’s Hockey team.
FIH Pro League 2024-25: India’s Match Schedule
| Date | Time (IST) | Opponent Team |
| 15 Feb 2025 | 19:30 | Spain |
| 16 Feb 2025 | 19:30 | Spain |
| 18 Feb 2025 | 19:30 | Germany |
| 19 Feb 2025 | 17:15 | Germany |
| 21 Feb 2025 | 19:30 | Ireland |
| 22 Feb 2025 | 19:30 | Ireland |
| 24 Feb 2025 | 19:30 | England |
| 25 Feb 2025 | 19:30 | England |
| 7 Jun 2025 | 19:30 | Netherlands |
| 9 Jun 2025 | 18:00 | Netherlands |
| 11 Jun 2025 | 18:30 | Argentina |
| 12 Jun 2025 | 18:30 | Argentina |
| 14 Jun 2025 | 14:00 | Australia |
| 15 Jun 2025 | 14:00 | Australia |
| 21 Jun 2025 | 19:00 | Belgium |
| 22 Jun 2025 | 19:00 | Belgium |
