India beat Wales 3-1 at Wagener Stadion, Amstelveen; Harmanpreet Singh nets brace

FIH Hockey World Cup 2026: India begin campaign with 3-1 win against Wales

Sanjay scored once and Harmanpreet Singh bagged a brace for the former champions. India will face England in their second Pool D match on Monday.

The Indian men’s team made a triumphant start to their FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 campaign after beating Wales 3-1 in their opening Pool D match at the Wagener Stadion in Amstelveen, Netherlands, on Saturday.

Sanjay (8’) opened the scoring, while captain Harmanpreet Singh (10’, 43’) bagged a brace for India. Sam Welsh (56’) scored Wales’ only goal in the final quarter.

Wales made the brighter start, earning two entries into the Indian circle in the opening five minutes, but neither resulted in a clear effort on goal.

India then broke the deadlock in the eighth minute when Sanjay converted their second penalty corner with a drag-flick.

Captain Harmanpreet Singh doubled India’s lead from another penalty corner a couple of minutes later as the former champions took control of the opening quarter.

The second quarter was more subdued, with neither side creating a clear-cut chance. India continued to dominate possession and territory but could not convert an early penalty corner.

Wales produced an attack, with their effort striking the side netting, while India had several more entries into the circle without finding a third goal.

A late chance for India in the 30th minute, from the top of the circle, was also struck wide as Wales went into the break trailing 2-0.

Wales showed greater urgency in the third quarter, making a couple of promising moves down the left flank and coming close to winning a penalty corner.

India then earned a penalty corner of their own and Harmanpreet Singh made no mistake, firing home his second goal of the match with another drag-flick to extend the lead to 3-0.

The final quarter of the contest saw Wales pull one back through Sam Welsh following a goal-mouth scramble. However, it wasn’t enough to prevent India from picking up the win to kick off their campaign.

India will face England at the same venue in their second Pool D match at the FIH Hockey World Cup on Monday.

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