Hockey Pro League: India's home games to be initially held behind closed doors

FIH Pro League games against Spain, scheduled on February 26 and 27, will be played behind closed doors, Hockey India said on Friday. The matches will be played at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium here. "The matches will be a telecast-only affair as Hockey India and FIH have decided to hold the double-header weekend matches starting from 26th February under closed-doors for the time being," HI said in a media release.

Both the Indian men's and women's teams will play against Spain on February 26 and 27 in a two-legged tie, followed by matches (both men's and women's) against Germany on March 12 and 13. The men's team will then take on Argentina in another double-header on March 19 and 20. The two Indian teams are slated to host England on April 2 and 3.

The situation will be reviewed at the end of February for matches scheduled from March, the federation said. "With sheer popularity of the sport in this region and expected crowds in the stadium, the organisers believe it would not be possible to control that number of people and yet follow all the ?necessary ovid guidelines and protocols," Hi said. The stadium will only be opened to accredited operational staff, participants of the tournament, sponsors, staff of participating organisations, delegates and guests invited by HI and FIH.