Ahead of his team’s FIH Hockey Pro League debut this coming weekend, India attacking midfielder Lalit Upadhyay looks ahead to the mouth-watering double header against the Netherlands that takes place at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
What is the atmosphere in your team like ahead of your first FIH Hockey Pro League match?
Lalit Upadhyay: “We are very excited to play against the Dutch team as they bring a tough competition on the field all the time, so we are very excited to play against them.”
How has the team been preparing in the past few weeks?
Lalit Upadhyay: “The team has been putting in a lot of hard work over the past few weeks. As we all know they are [one of the] world’s best teams, so it’s good to get the opportunity to play against them in the Pro League. We are looking forward to the matches at the weekend. My team is geared up to face the Netherlands.”
How will you approach the games against the Netherlands?
Lalit Upadhyay: “We will be taking this competition just like any other – one game at a time. This will be a good challenge for our debut in the Pro League, as the team is really excited to play against the Netherlands.”
What, if anything, do you think will be different between the Pro League and other international fixtures?
Lalit Upadhyay: “It’s a good opportunity to play in the Pro League because all of the top teams in the world are participating, so we can have some good matches against them. So, we can have a good experience which we can also take into the Olympics.”
What sort of reception are you expecting from the supporters in the stadium?
Lalit Upadhyay: “The Kalinga Stadium has been amazing for us – we have never seen a stadium where the supporters play such a huge role. It’s very motivating for us to have such great support from the fans.”
What is your message to the fans ahead of your opening matches?
Lalit Upadhyay: “We want to thank each and every [person] who has supported us all the time. We want more people to come to the live matches at the stadium as that really motivates us to perform at our best. Thank you very much.”
To find out how you can watch all the action from Bhubaneswar, please visit our broadcast page by clicking here. In territories where broadcast rights agreements are not in place, fans can watch live match action from the FIH Hockey Pro League via the FIH.live global broadcast platform. To visit FIH.live, click here.
To see the confirmed match schedule for the FIH Hockey Pro League, which includes links to ticket sites for each of the matches, please click here. For information about how to purchase tickets for the FIH Hockey Pro League matches, please click here.
Keep up to date with all the latest news on the FIH Hockey Pro League via the event websiteand through FIH social media channels -Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
#FIHProLeague
