Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s iconic Kalinga Stadium will host the two matches of the FIH Hockey Olympic qualifiers scheduled to be played at the venue on November 1 and 2.
Indian men’s hockey team will face Russia while the Indian eves will take on USA during the two high-voltage clashes.
The qualifiers were determined by a draw held yesterday at the headquarters of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The winners of these qualifiers will qualify for the 2020 Olympic hockey tournament which will be staged in Japan’s capital city Tokyo.
India had registered a sensational 10-0 win against Russia when they last played against them during the FIH Series Final in Bhubaneswar earlier this year.
The Russian team, on the other hand, had won 12-1 against Uzbekistan, 3-2 against Poland and lost a close 1-2 match against South Africa in the knockout stage.
Considering they are a team who can be good in defence, Indian Team Skipper Manpreet Singh said they can’t take the Russian squad lightly.