2026 FIH Hockey World Cup: Team India began its Hockey World Cup campaign with a victory on Independence Day, August 15. India won the match 3-1.

Indian Hockey team

2026 FIH Hockey World Cup, India vs Wales: On Independence Day, August 15, 2026, the Indian hockey team began its campaign at the 2026 FIH World Cup with a victory. Played at the Wagner Hockey Stadium in Amstelveen, Netherlands, the Indian team defeated Wales 3-1. Captain Harmanpreet Singh and Sanjay scored for the team. Wales conceded only one goal.

This was a Pool D match, in which India dominated from the start. They took a 2-0 lead in the first quarter. The second quarter was a blank, with neither team scoring a goal. India continued to advance and scored in the third quarter. Then, in the final, fourth quarter, Wales scored the only goal of the match.

Sanjay got the start

Sanjay scored Team India's first goal in the 8th minute of the first quarter. Captain Harmanpreet then joined the party in the 11th minute, scoring a goal. This gave India a 2-0 lead in the first quarter. India then earned a penalty corner.

There were no goals in the second quarter. However, India did earn a penalty corner. Then came the third quarter, where captain Harmanpreet Singh once again showed her magic. She scored her second goal and the team's third in the 43rd minute.

After three quarters, Team India had taken a 3-0 lead. The match was now firmly in India's control. Wales needed to score four goals in the remaining 15 minutes to win, a seemingly impossible task. It remained so until the end of the match. Sam Welsh scored Wales' only goal in the fourth quarter in the 56th minute. Thus, India won the match by 3-1 at full time.