The Hockey World Cup 2026, being hosted by Belgium and Netherlands, will start from August 15. This time Men's and Women's World Cup is being held simultaneously. The matches of this tournament which will last for 16 days will be played at two venues. All matches will be played at the Belfius Hockey Arena in Wavre, Belgium and the Wagner Stadium in Amstelveen, Netherlands.
16-16 teams are participating in the World Cup, which are divided into 4 groups. The Indian men's team is in Group D. There are teams from Wales, England and Pakistan in this group. Team India will start its campaign against Wales. This match will be played on August 15 from 4:30 pm. After this, India will face England on 17th August. The India-Pakistan high-voltage match in the Men's World Cup will be played on August 19. Hockey World Cup can be enjoyed on JioHotstar and Star Sports Network.
Also read: Who is the new 'Tamim Iqbal' of Bangladesh? Scored the first test century in Australia
India's schedule in Men's World Cup
- August 15: India vs Wales, 4:30 pm, Wagner Hockey Stadium
- August 17: India vs England, 6:30 pm, Wagner Hockey Stadium
- August 19: India vs Pakistan, 6:30 pm, Wagner Hockey Stadium
This is the format of the tournament
The format of the World Cup has been changed. This time there will be no crossover matches or quarter-finals. The top two teams of each group will reach the second round, where they will be divided into two groups of 4 teams each. The two teams that qualify from Group D will face the top two teams from Group A, while the top two teams from Group B will face the top two teams from Group C.
In the second round, a team will face two teams from the other group and will also carry the points gained against the second qualifying team of its group. After this, the top two teams from the second round group will reach the semi-finals. The bottom two teams in the first and second round groups will play classification matches.
Also read: Aaqib was at the airport, suddenly Bumrah's replacement call came and life changed
India has not won the title for 51 years
The Indian men's team won the first and last Hockey World Cup in 1975. Since then the team has never been able to come close to the title. The title drought continues for 51 years. Team India had reached the quarter-finals in 2018, where it had to face defeat at the hands of Netherlands. In the last Men's World Cup, the Indian team lost to New Zealand in the penalty shootout in the crossover match.
India's squad for Men's World Cup
Goalkeeper: Mohit HS, Suraj Karkera
Defender: Jarmanpreet Singh, Harmanpreet Singh (captain), Amit Rohidas, Jugraj Singh, Sanjay, Sumit, Yashdeep Siwach
Midfielder: Rajinder Singh, Aditya Arjun Lalge, Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, Neelkanta Sharma, Vivek Sagar Prasad
Forward: Dilpreet Singh, Shilanand Lakra, Sukhjit Singh, Mandeep Singh, Abhishek