India Eye Paris Revenge Against Germany In Test Series As International Hockey Returns To Delhi

International hockey will return to the capital after a 10-year gap when Olympic bronze-medallists India take on world champions Germany in a two-Test bilateral series starting in New Delhi on Wednesday, aiming to test some new faces and extract revenge for a recent heartbreak inflicted by the visitors. For the last 10 years, the capital's Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, once considered the spiritual home of the game, has not hosted any international match.

The last game played here was the 2014 Hero World League Final, although inter-departmental hockey has been held here occasionally.

But the two Tests against the world No.2 and Paris Olympics silver-winning outfit on Wednesday and Thursday would be a perfect comeback for the sport.

It has been learnt that over 12,000 fans have already registered for the free tickets on offer through a private ticketing portal. The National Stadium has a seating capacity of just over 16,000.

The two Tests hold great significance for Indian hockey, which is on an upswing following back-to-back Olympic bronze medals in Tokyo and Paris.

In the French capital, the Indians, under the talismanic and in-form Harmanpreet Singh's leadership, lost 2-3 to Germany in a closely-contested semifinal.

"This series is not just about the two teams playing; it's about reviving the spirit of hockey in Delhi. We hope this will inspire more young players from the region to take up the game," Harmanpreet had said after the rubber was announced.

That sentiment aside, India also have a very good opportunity to avenge their loss in Paris.

But the Germans will be a hard nut to crack as they are the reigning world champions and displayed that fortitude in Paris, going down only in the shoot-out to Netherlands