Industry Odisha Bureau, Jul 15: With just a month left before the FIH Hockey World Cup Belgium and Netherlands 2026 begins, excitement is building as the Indian Men’s and Women’s Teams intensify their preparations at the national coaching camps currently in progress at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Centre in Bengaluru.
The prestigious tournament, scheduled to be held from 15 to 30 August, will for the first time see both men’s and women’s editions being held simultaneously at the same venues.
The Indian Men’s Team heads into the World Cup with renewed confidence following encouraging performances during the Rotterdam and London legs of the FIH Hockey Pro League, where they defeated reigning world champions Germany and Paris Olympics gold medallists Netherlands, in addition to victories against Pakistan and a strong showing against England.
“The players have come into the camp fresh (after a break following the Pro League tour of Europe), and you can see it in the energy on the pitch. The sessions have been sharp and competitive, with everyone eager to be back together,” said the Indian Men’s Hockey Team’s Chief Coach, Craig Fulton.
“The first few days had been about getting the legs moving again, re-establishing our standards and now we are gradually building the intensity as we prepare for the World Cup,” he said.
The Indian Men’s Team, champions of the 1975 edition, has been drawn in Pool D alongside England, Pakistan and Wales, with their campaign beginning against Wales on August 15, followed by the match against England on August 17 and against Pakistan on August 19.
The match against England, one of the in-form teams currently, promises to be a stern test. Recent battles between the two teams, including at the just-concluded FIH Pro League, have been close.
Having said that, the clash against arch-rivals Pakistan remains the marquee fixture of the first phase of the tournament.
“We’re doing strong conditioning work early in the week to build our physical base, before moving into more tactical, unit-based sessions as the week progresses,” said Fulton.
“We’re also doing a lot of small-sided games to keep decision-making sharp under fatigue, alongside daily video reviews to reinforce learning and specific work on our press and counter. It’s about improving what we’re already good at and continuing to build on those strengths.”
The Indian Women’s Team, meanwhile, will enter the World Cup on the back of an emphatic campaign at the FIH Nations Cup, where they lifted the trophy with an unbeaten run in the tournament. It gives the team valuable momentum heading into the big tournament.
Placed in Pool D, the Indian Women’s Team will begin their campaign facing one of the title favourites China on 16 August, followed by matches against South Africa on August 18 and England on August 20.
“The team is very motivated for the upcoming period with the two major tournaments (World Cup and Asian Games) ahead. The players are excited and you can clearly see that energy during our training sessions. Everyone is working hard every day, and there is a real hunger within the group to keep improving,” said Sjoerd Marine, Chief Coach of the Indian Women’s Team.
“Our focus remains on ourselves. We want to take another step forward, especially in terms of fitness, while continuing to improve the areas we have been working on over the past few months. We have a good balance of high, medium and low-intensity sessions because you cannot train at maximum intensity every day,” Marijne stated.
“Our strength and conditioning coaches closely monitor every player to make sure the team is ready. I can see the progress we are making, both individually and as a team, and that gives me a lot of confidence going into the World Cup,” the Chief Coach added.
