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Hockey World Cup 2026 is going to start from today (15th August). This tournament being organized in Belgium and Netherlands will last for 16 days. The first match of the men's competition is to be played between India and Wales. This match will be played today at 4:30 pm at the Wagner Hockey Stadium in Netherlands. The Indian team, which has been returning empty handed for 51 years in the World Cup, will be eyeing a good start. India has not lost any match against Wales so far. There has been a clash between the two teams 4 times, in which Team India has got the upper hand every time.

Where will the Hockey World Cup match be seen?

Hockey World Cup in India will be telecast live on sports networks. To enjoy World Cup matches on TV, one has to tune into Star Sports Network. To watch the match on mobile, you have to go to JioHotstar app. Live streaming facility will also be available on JioHotstar website.

What is India's strength?

Team India has one of the best dragflickers in the world, Harmanpreet. Harmanpreet has been scoring goals with his dragflick for years. He has scored 220 international goals so far. Harmanpreet's current form is a matter of some concern. He has scored just one goal in the last 8 Pro-League matches played in Europe. He did not play in the early matches of the season due to a finger injury. He has been seen struggling with injuries for the last two years. However, he is now fully fit and is desperate to repeat the performance of the Paris Olympics.

Talented attacking players like Abhishek, Shilanand Lakra and Rajinder Singh are also in the team. The performance of these three in the last few years has been excellent. Abhishek has no answer in terms of field goals. Indian team coach Craig Fulton would like these three players to perform well in the World Cup as well.

Defense is the weakness of Team India

The biggest concern of the Indian team is in defence. This also includes set-piece defence. In the last two seasons of Pro-League, the team did not look as strong as before. The goalkeeping department also looks weak due to the retirement of veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and poor form of Krishna Pathak. The team is making a lot of mistakes in important moments. The Indian team has given too many penalty corners for some time now. At the same time, he has struggled to convert the opportunities he got into goals. Fulton believes the team has learned lessons from its previous games and worked on those shortcomings during camp.

How is India's recent form?

The Indian men's hockey team is at number 9 in the world ranking. India's performance in the recent Pro-League was not good. He was in 8th place out of 9 teams. Team India could not achieve even a single win in the first 8 matches. The team's form improved in the second half of the season and it defeated teams like Netherlands, Germany, Pakistan and England in Europe, thereby avoiding relegation to the FIH Nations League.

Who else is in India's pool?

Team India has been placed in Pool-D along with Wales, England and Pakistan. These teams will play one match each against each other and the top-2 teams will qualify for the second round. Pool A has teams from Netherlands, Argentina, New Zealand and Japan. Pool B includes Belgium, Germany, France and Malaysia. Teams from Australia, Spain, Ireland and South Africa have been placed in Pool C.

After playing Wales, the Indian team will face England on 17th August. The India-Pakistan high-voltage match will be played on August 19.

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

Hockey World Cup will be played in a new format

There has been a big change in the format of the Hockey World Cup. This time there will be no crossover matches or quarter-finals. The top-2 teams of each group will qualify for the second round, where they will be divided into two groups. The two qualifying teams from Pool-D will face the top-2 teams from Pool-A, while the top-2 teams from Pool-B will face the top-2 teams from Pool-C. In the second round, a team will face two teams from the other pool and will also carry over the points gained against the second qualifying team of its pool. After this, the top two teams from the second round pool will reach the semi-finals. The bottom two teams in the first and second round pools will play classification matches.

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