Ahead of their tournament opener against hosts India at the Kalinga Stadium tomorrow, German captain Moritz Furste seemed worried about the hot weather conditions and said it will be a challenge for the overseas teams, especially Europeans in the day matches.
"We arrived for the tournament very late because most of the players of our teams were busy playing for indoor hockey for their clubs, which primarily is our livelihood. We were playing indoor hockey till last Sunday. But slowly we are getting involved and trying to acclimatise to the conditions," Furste said today.
Furtse's England counterpart Barry Middleton said it definitely would be tough for European teams to play in the day time here.
"We are playing all our pool matches in the middle of the day. We didn't know what to expect after coming here, but now it's probably better than what we thought it would be. Of course, it's tough because it is pretty hot out here but it is same for all the teams," Middleton said.