Hockey World Cup 2026 Wraps Up: India Men Finish 8th, Women End on a High

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The FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 has come to a close, and it's been a tale of two campaigns for India's men's and women's teams.

Men's Team: Eighth-Place Finish

India's men's campaign ended with an eighth-place finish after a heartbreaking 4-3 shootout loss to hosts Belgium in the classification match, following a 3-3 draw in regulation. Abhishek Nain and a Harmanpreet Singh brace kept India in the contest, with the captain's late penalty corner goal forcing the shootout in the dying seconds. Harmanpreet finished the tournament with eight goals, level with Argentina's Tomás Domene as the competition's joint-top scorer — a personal high point in an otherwise disappointing campaign.

Germany were crowned champions, beating Spain 1-0 in the final to claim their fourth World Cup title, the most of any nation, while Argentina finished third after beating the Netherlands.

Women's Team: Best Finish in 52 Years

It was a far happier story for India's women, who capped their campaign with a superb 3-1 win over world No. 5 Germany to finish fifth — their best World Cup result since the inaugural 1974 edition. Ishika opened the scoring before Navneet Kaur struck twice in a dominant final quarter, sealing a result built on a genuinely strong tournament: two wins, three draws, and just a single defeat (to hosts Netherlands) across six matches.

With 11 players making their World Cup debuts, the run is a major confidence boost heading into next month's Asian Games.

Argentina were crowned women's champions, beating hosts and nine-time winners Netherlands in a shootout in the final.

Looking Ahead

Both Indian teams now turn their attention to the Asian Games, taking place in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, next month — a tournament where India's women in particular will carry real momentum after this campaign.


Anirudh Gaur, Sports Management & Operations | Sportspredictor

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