It was not the way they would have wanted, but it would just be fine. They made it harder for themselves, but the Indian women survived an onslaught from England to hold on for a nervy goalless draw on Thursday and progress to the World Cup second round.

The sun, for a change, crept up over the Wagener Stadion as the Indian team basked in a rare moment of success on this stage. In a pool (D) where India (five points) was ranked the third-best side, Sjoerd Marijne’s outfit finished second behind China (seven points).

It was a superb rearguard effort from the Indian defence with England needing just one goal to break the resistance and with that, the rival’s hearts.

In the final minute, Tessa Howard struck at goal, but Bichu Devi sprung to her left to push the ball away, making India believe again. It was a remarkable save.

Her jubilant senior goalkeeping partner Savita Punia called it the “save of the match”.

Savita did her part, too, keeping England at bay in the third quarter with two superb saves. But the European side came harder in the final 15 minutes, including removing its goalkeeper for an extra outfielder. England had 16 circle penetrations to India’s two in the second half as the latter was retreating into its own quarter of the pitch.

Nerves probably played a part and India kept making errors on the ball, allowing England to dominate possession and accumulate scoring opportunities.

Darcy Bourne and Anna Toman had eight tries from penalty corners in the second period, but India’s PC defence was superbly led by skipper Salima Tete, who rushed out to frustrate them repeatedly.

India had chances to make its life easy in the first half but Navneet Kaur and Deepika were wasteful with their finishing from short corners. Navneet fired wide from her second attempt, and became predictable with her drag-wide-and-strike approach as Miriam Pritchard guessed it right.

Ultimately, it didn’t prove costly for India. But Marijne’s side will need to do better against the Netherlands in the second-round game on Friday.

Harmanpreet Singh scores, India wins. But what happens when he doesn’t?

Harmanpreet had a wry smile when the question was put forward to him. It’s a query he has faced countless times in his long career and one he was probably half-expecting after India’s 3-1 World Cup victory over Wales here on Saturday.

The Indian skipper once again showed why he is among the world’s greatest when it comes to dragflicks, scoring twice and taking his goal tally to 254. All three of India’s goals came from short corners, with Sanjay Rana also netting one from the area.

Is there an over-reliance on penalty corners? What about the field goals?

Harmanpreet was quick to defend his forwards although the link-up between Mandeep Singh, Abhishek Nain and Sukhjeet Singh lacked the final pass, control or finishing touch in the clash against Wales.

“They are playing well. They are creating so many chances in the D, so it doesn’t matter if we are scoring a field goal or creating a PC. At the end of the day, we are getting goals, that’s more important,” said the 30-year-old.

In recent years, India has relied on its prowess from short corners, particularly from the stick of Harmanpreet. After all, of his 254 goals, a whopping 217 (85.43%) have come from PCs. India wins 69% of the matches when Harmanpreet scores.

When his penalty-corner conversion form dipped in his stop-start Pro League campaign, India struggled woefully in front of goal to finish eighth in the standings. In the 10 games he featured, the team converted just nine of its 43 PCs with Harmanpreet managing a lowly two. The overall picture across 16 games highlighted India’s poor PC conversion and its struggles from open play, which led to a sub-par number of short corners earned.

Of its 63 PCs, 24 came in the two matches against last-placed Pakistan. In 14 games against the top-seven teams, several of whom will be strong contenders at the World Cup, India converted just eight of the 39 short corners.

While India scored more field goals (16) than PC goals (13) in the Pro League, it should be noted that six of them came against Pakistan. Harmanpreet doesn’t want to look back on India’s struggles and maintains that the objective is clear. “We are not going to overthink things. We know our values and targets. We are here for the World Cup, we are going to win this,” he said.

India on Friday (July 10, 2026) announced a tried-and-tested women’s hockey squad for this year’s Asian Games with just a couple of changes to the strike force that helped the side regain its place in the FIH Pro League recently.

The 20-member squad, to be led by regular skipper Salima Tete, will be aiming to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics by winning a gold at the 20th Asian Games to be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan from September 19 to October 4.

Salima will continue to captain the side, having led the team to FIH Nations Cup triumph in New Zealand last month, which ensured that it spent only season in the relegated zone.

“We have a group in which we have a nice balance between juniors, experienced players and seniors who are constantly working to get the best out of each other,” said India’s chief coach, Sjoerd Marijne, sharing his thoughts on the squad announced here on Friday.

Veteran Savita, who recently received the Padma Shri award, and Bichu Devi Kharibam have been named as the two goalkeepers in the squad.

The defence comprises Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Ishika Chaudhary and Jyoti, besides Lalthantluangi and Shilpi Dabas, who made their senior debut during the FIH Nations Cup and were rewarded for their good performance in the tournament.

The mid-field will manned by captain Salima along side Nikki Pradhan, Sakshi Rana, Sunelita Toppo, Neha and Deepika Soreng.

The forward line features Lalremsiami, Rutuja Dadaso Pisal, Navneet Kaur, Deepika, Ishika, Baljeet Kaur and Beauty Dungdung.

The only two changes from the FIH Nations Cup squad are Sonam and Annu, who were replaced by strikers Baljeet Kaur and Beauty Dungdung.

“This group of players has shown that they have the right form and fitness in recent months. We are confident that this team is ready for the challenge at the Asian Games,” Marijne added.

India squad for Asian Games:

Goalkeepers: Savita, Bichu Devi Kharibam.

Defenders: Ishika Chaudhary, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Lalthantluangi, Jyoti, Shilpi Dabas.

Midfielders: Nikki Pradhan, Sakshi Rana, Sunelita Toppo, Salima Tete (C), Neha, Deepika Soreng.

Forwards: Lalremsiami, Rutuja Dadaso Pisal, Navneet Kaur, Deepika, Ishika, Baljeet Kaur, Beauty Dungdung.

Outplayed at home, the Indian men’s hockey team would be eager to bounce back and make a fresh start under new skipper Hardik Singh when it begins the FIH Pro League’s overseas leg with a game against Spain in Hobart on Saturday (February 21, 2026).

The Hobart leg of the series, which also features hosts Australia, will be held till February 25 at the Tasmania Hockey Centre.

The recent Rourkela leg proved to be a painful learning curve for the Indians with losses to Argentina and Belgium. Regular skipper Harmanpreet Singh has taken a break to welcome his second child from the upcoming clutch of matches.

The team views these fixtures as a vital opportunity to test combinations, refine structure, and build momentum ahead of the upcoming FIH World Cup and the subsequent Asian Games. After the campaign-opener against Spain, a high-octane clash against Australia is lined up for Sunday.

India will face Spain again on February 24 before concluding the leg with a final match against Australia on February 25.

India and Spain have been evenly-matched in their last 10 encounters, claiming four regulation wins each, alongside two draws that India went on to win in shootouts.

Against Australia, high-scoring drama has been a constant. The hosts hold the statistical edge in their last 10 meetings with six wins to India’s two (and two draws).

Two-time Olympic bronze medallist Hardik will lead the side that also features young players like Amandeep Lakra and Manmeet Singh, both of whom are looking to build on their recent senior debuts.

Rising stars such as Angad Bir Singh, Araijeet Singh Hundal, and Aditya Arjun Lalage will also be eager to prove their mettle in the forward line.

Match starts: 12 noon (IST).