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India to start Pro League campaign in February
The Harmanpreet Singh-led side will face Pakistan, who will be playing the nine-team tournament for the first time, in England in June 2026
The Indian men’s hockey team will begin their Pro League campaign in February 2026 as they host Argentina and Belgium with the international hockey federation (FIH) announcing the 2025-26 season schedule on Monday.
Interestingly, the Harmanpreet Singh-led side will face Pakistan, who will be playing the nine-team tournament for the first time, in England in June 2026.
While the season commences on December 9 in Argentina and Ireland, India will play their first batch of matches from February 10-15 against Argentina and Belgium. The Craig Fulton-coached side will then travel to Australia where they will face the hosts and Spain from February 20-25.
India will then resume their Pro League duties in the Netherlands where they will face the reigning Olympic champions and World Cup winners Germany from June 13-21. India will then proceed to England where they will take on the hosts and Pakistan from June 23-28, concluding the seven-month long tournament.
Each team will play the other twice with the winner qualifying for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Ireland were relegated to the Nations Cup in the 2024-25 season after finishing ninth and last.
By winning the Nations Cup in June, New Zealand qualified for the Pro League but decided to not play in it. The FIH then decided to invite runners-up Pakistan, who agreed on playing the elite tournament.
The Indian team finished eighth in the 2024-25 season. The Indian women’s team, on the other hand, ended ninth and last to get relegated to the Nations Cup.
India last played Pakistan in the round robin stage of the 2024 Asian Champions Trophy in Hulunbuir, China, where the Paris Olympics bronze medallists won 2-1. In fact, the last time Pakistan beat India (1-0) was in the 2016 South Asian Games final in Guwahati. Since then, India have won 15 matches while two games have ended in a draw. Pakistan recently refused to travel to Rajgir for the Asia Cup due to security concerns.
