More than 50 years since they last won the Hockey World Cup or even stood on the podium, the Indian men's hockey team are back, looking to break the streak in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Head coach Craig Fulton, who guided the team to an Olympic bronze in Paris, will hope to make a deep run in the tournament - which will feature 16 teams from around the world.
The Men's World Cup is simultaneously taking place alongside the Women's World Cup. The two venues for the tournaments are the Belfius Hockey Arena in Wavre, Belgium and the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen, Netherlands.
India qualified for this World Cup after winning the 2025 Asia Cup in Rajgir.
Here's everything you need to know about India at the FIH Men's World Cup:
Who are India's opponents in group stage?
India have been placed in Pool D along with Wales, England and Pakistan. They will play each other once and the top two will qualify for the second round.
The teams in Pool A are Netherlands, Argentina, New Zealand, Japan. Pool B will feature Belgium, Germany, France and Malaysia. Pool C will see Australia, Spain, Ireland and South Africa.
What is India's schedule?
Aug 15: India vs Wales, 4:30 p.m. at Wagener Hockey Stadium.
Aug 17: India vs England, 6:30 p.m. at Wagener Hockey Stadium.
Aug 19: India vs Pakistan, 6:30 p.m. at Wagener Hockey Stadium.
Note: Times in IST
Where will the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 be telecast in India?
In India, the the World Cup will be telecast on Star Sports and JioHotstar.
What is the tournament format?
Unlike previous editions, this World Cup will not see crossover matches or quarterfinals. The top two teams in each group will progress to the second round where they will be divided into two groups of four each.
The two qualified teams from Pool D will face the top two from Pool A, while the top two from Pool B will face the top two from Pool C.
In the second round, a team will face the other two teams from a different pool while carrying forward the points from the result against the other qualified team from its pool. The top two teams from second round pools will then make it to the semifinals.
Meanwhile, the bottom two teams from first and second round pools will be involved in classification matches.
India's squad for the World Cup
There were no big surprises with Fulton sticking to the same core of players who have been playing under him for the last two years. It's a squad with plenty of experience with Harmanpreet Singh named captain for the second straight World Cup.
This will be the fourth World Cup campaign for Mandeep Singh and Manpreet Singh while debutants include Mohith HS, Suraj Karkera, Yashdeep Siwach, Aditya Arjun Lalage, Rajinder Singh, Jugraj Singh, Sanjay and Shilanand Lakra.
Goalkeepers: Mohith HS, Suraj Karkera.
Defenders: Jarmanpreet Singh, Harmanpreet Singh (c), Amit Rohidas, Jugraj Singh, Sanjay, Sumit, Yashdeep Siwach.
Midfielders: Rajinder Singh, Aditya Arjun Lalage, Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Vivek Sagar Prasad.
Forwards: Dilpreet Singh, Shilanand Lakra, Sukhjeet Singh, Mandeep Singh, Abhishek.
India's form coming into the World Cup
India, currently world no.8, are coming into the World Cup after a tough Pro League season where they finished second-last. They didn't have an outright win in the first eight games - however, their form improved in the second half of the season this year. They beat the likes of Netherlands, Germany, Pakistan and England (in a shootout) in Europe which ensured they were not relegated to the FIH Nations League.
Fulton and his team will take confidence from the performances against Netherlands, Germany and England. The team showed improvements from the first eight games, with better attacking performances. Nevertheless, they will need to work on their defence.
What are India's strengths and weaknesses?
To have one of the world's best dragflicker in the team has to be counted among strengths. Harmanpreet has been delivering goals from his dragflicks for years and he will want to do the same in the upcoming tournament.
There is a slight concern with regards to his form. He scored only once in the last eight Pro League games in Europe, and he had to miss earlier matches in the season due to a finger injury. Over the last two years, his body took a beating due to multiple injuries, but he has regained fitness and looks set to make an impact, like he did at the Paris Olympics.
There are also talented attacking players in Abhishek, Shilanand and Rajinder. All three have been impressive over the last year or two, with Abhishek being the main threat when it comes to scoring field goals. Fulton will hope all three will step up and deliver consistently.
The main concern has been defence, including set-piece defending. In the last two seasons of Pro League, the team haven't looked as solid as previously. The retirement of the legendary PR Sreejesh and Krishan Pathak's loss in form became an issue in the goalkeeping department.
Fulton's style is based on a strong defensive setup and quick counterattack, but the team struggled to play to their core principles, which affected their results. There have been structural issues off the ball, including tiredness due to a gruelling schedule as well as making mistakes in key moments. They have been guilty of conceding way too many penalty corners while also struggling to convert their chances. 2
Fulton has noted however, that the squad have taken the lessons from their previous games and worked on those areas during their camp.
India's past World Cup campaigns
India have been on the podium three times but all of them came between 1971 and 1975. It has been 51 years since they last won the World Cup and since then India have failed to even finish in the top four.
India have hosted the previous two World Cups, both in Odisha. They were knocked out by Netherlands in quarterfinals in 2018 while suffered a disappointing loss against New Zealand on penalties in a crossover match four years later.