Hockey World Cup is going to start from 15th August. The Indian men's team will take the field against Wales on this day. The team captained by Harmanpreet Singh will be eyeing to give an Independence Day gift to the countrymen by making a great start to the campaign to end the 51-year drought in the World Cup. 8-time Olympic champion India won the only World Cup in 1975 by defeating Pakistan in Kuala Lumpur.
Earlier, it had won bronze in 1971 and silver in 1973, but in the last 51 years, the Indian team has failed to make it to the podium. Experts believe that the Indian team has the golden opportunity this time. Among the teams that are challenging India (ranked 8th) in the group stage, only England (ranked 3rd) is ahead of it, while Pakistan is at 12th and Wales is at 15th. 'Sarpanch Saheb' i.e. Harmanpreet has also made it clear before the tournament that the team will enter with the passion to win the medal.
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'Like Olympics, drought will end in World Cup too'
Harmanpreet said that the team will enter with the same mentality and preparation as it had in the last two Olympics. He said, 'We are sure that the way we won the Olympic medal in Tokyo after 41 years, this time we will complete the gap of 51 years in the World Cup. We have come here with the same passion, same thinking and preparation. There is no pressure to win a medal in the World Cup, rather it is our responsibility.
He said, 'We have played against top teams continuously and the young players are also full of confidence. The good thing is that in the last few tournaments we have scored a lot of field goals.
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World Cup debut of 8 Indian men's players
The Indian team had won the Asia Cup in Rajgir but in the last season of the Pro League, it finished eighth among the nine teams, just above Pakistan. However, just before the World Cup, the team defeated current World and European champion Germany and also defeated Olympic champion Netherlands in the Europe leg of the FIH Pro-League.
Coach Craig Fulton selected the World Cup team after trying 33 players in the Pro-League 2025-26, which also includes veteran midfielder Manpreet Singh, who has played the maximum number of 417 international matches for India. This will be the first World Cup for 8 players including Yashdeep Siwach, Mohit HS, Shilanand Lakra.
Team ready to face every situation – Opton
Indian team's mental coach Paddy Opton, who came with mental strength after facing adverse conditions in the boot camp in Switzerland before the World Cup, believes that instead of thinking about the medal right now, strategy will be made match by match. Opton, who has worked with the 2011 World Cup winning cricket team and the Paris Olympics 2024 bronze medalist Indian hockey team, said, 'We have prepared this team physically and mentally to face every situation. This team is capable of facing the challenges of the journey to the medal and I am sure that after the Olympics, it can also win a World Cup medal.
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First big tournament after Sreejesh's retirement
This is the first major tournament after the retirement of veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and the challenge for young goalkeepers Mohit HS and Suraj Karkera will not be easy. In defence, the experience of Amit Rohidas and captain Harmanpreet Singh will be useful, whose drag flicks will also be responsible for India's goals. While reliable players like Manpreet and Hardik Singh are there to command the midfield, the forward line will focus on Abhishek and Mandeep, who are just 12 matches away from 300 international matches.
Need for good performance before Asian Games
For the Indian team, which has finished sixth and eighth in the last two World Cups hosted by it, a good performance in this World Cup will act as a tonic, which it will need in the Asian Games next month, where its aim is to qualify for the Los Angeles Olympics by winning the gold medal. Good performance on the field is also important to keep aside the many off-field controversies that happen just before the tournament.