Team India is going to begin their FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2026 campaign against Wales on August 15, carrying the weight of a 51-year wait for another world title but determined to build a new chapter of their own.
India’s return to the global stage inevitably brings memories of Kuala Lumpur in 1975, when captain Ajit Pal Singh led the team to its only World Cup triumph. More than five decades later, that historic achievement remains deeply embedded in Indian hockey’s identity.
For captain Harmanpreet Singh, however, the focus is firmly on the present. The defender will lead India at his second World Cup as captain, following his first appearance as skipper at the 2023 edition. In doing so, he becomes only the second Indian after Ajit Pal Singh to captain the country at two World Cups.
India head into the tournament with renewed confidence following a strong finish to the FIH Pro League. They secured notable victories over reigning world champions Germany and Olympic champions the Netherlands, defeated Pakistan twice and edged England in a shootout — results that could prove significant with both England and Pakistan in their World Cup pool.
India have been drawn in Pool D alongside England, Pakistan and Wales. They open against Wales on August 15, face England on August 17 and meet Pakistan on August 19.
The new tournament format adds further importance to every pool-stage encounter. The top two teams from each of the four opening pools advance to the second phase, where the qualified sides are divided into Pools E and F. Crucially, teams carry forward the result and points earned against the other qualifier from their original pool, leaving little margin for dropped points in the opening round.
Experience remains one of India’s major strengths. Mandeep Singh and Manpreet Singh are set to make their fourth World Cup appearances, while Manpreet enters the tournament as India’s most-capped international player with 417 appearances.
Harmanpreet, Hardik Singh, Amit Rohidas, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Sumit and Nilakanta Sharma provide further experience across the squad, offering a strong core around which India’s younger players can develop.
The squad also features eight World Cup debutants, reflecting a deliberate blend of experience and youth. Among them is 23-year-old midfielder Aditya Arjuna Lalage, who has 13 senior international caps.
India head coach Craig Fulton believes that combination could be decisive.
“Our strength is our diversity,” said the team’s Chief Coach, Craig Fulton. “We have experience at tournament levels, Olympics and World Cups and then we have some youth that has done well at the U-21 level and has come through in the last 18 months to get into the group. We are excited about that mix.”
The tournament will also mark a special milestone for defender Yashdeep Siwach, whose World Cup debut comes in the Netherlands — a country where his mother, former India international Pritam Siwach, also represented the national team at a World Cup.
India will meanwhile enter the tournament with two World Cup debutants in goal, with Suraj Karkera and Mohith HS taking responsibility between the posts.
Alongside them, players such as Rajinder Singh, Aditya, Yashdeep and Shilanand Lakra represent the emerging generation, while Jarmanpreet Singh, Sanjay, Dilpreet Singh, Abhishek and Jugraj Singh bring further international experience.
For India, the challenge is to transform a proud hockey heritage into contemporary success. The team has not won the World Cup since 1975, but recent performances suggest a side capable of competing with the world’s best.
The opening match against Wales, therefore, represents more than the first fixture of a tournament. It is the beginning of another attempt to bridge the gap between India’s glorious hockey past and its ambitions for the future.
With India beginning their campaign on Independence Day, the symbolism will be impossible to ignore. The memories of Ajit Pal Singh’s champions will provide inspiration, but the responsibility for writing the next chapter rests with Harmanpreet and his teammates.
Fulton has set the ambition clearly:
“If you look at India’s legacy of the Olympics, it’s very, very powerful. But we last won a World Cup was 51 years ago. So we want to write our own piece of Indian history. That’s the big goal,” Fulton concluded.
(Inputs from Hockey India)
