New Delhi, 18 March (H.S.):The Indian women’s hockey team is now honing its preparations for the FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup 2026 after the tournament draw placed it in the highly competitive Pool D, alongside England, China and South Africa.

The World Cup is scheduled to be held in Belgium and the Netherlands in August 2026, and chief coach Sjoerd Marijne has already made it clear that the team’s priority will not be the “toughness” of the draw, but the quality and consistency of its on‑field performance.

In Pool D, China enter as the highest‑ranked side, currently placed fourth in the world, with England sixth and India ninth, while South Africa sit in 19th position. The grouping brings together three distinct hockey styles: China’s structured, defence‑anchored game; England’s sharp, high‑press attacking profile; and South Africa’s unpredictable, momentum‑based approach, which Marijne described as capable of being “dangerous on their day.”

Marijne told Hockey India that the pool is “very competitive and balanced” and that the Indian side expects to face both experience and variety. “We have England and China, two teams with very different styles and a lot of experience, while South Africa are always an unpredictable side who can be extremely dangerous when they get going,” he said.

India secured its World Cup berth by finishing runners‑up at the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 qualifiers in Hyderabad, losing 2–0 to England in the final. The bronze‑medal‑bound side scored 11 goals across the tournament, with six of them coming from penalty corners, a statistic that underscores the potency of the drag‑flick unit but also the need to convert more open‑play chances.

Reflecting on the qualifiers, Marijne praised the team’s improvement but underlined the need for greater consistency at both ends of the pitch. “We have been improving and the results show that, but the crucial thing for us is to convert our opportunities into goals, whether they come from field play or PCs,” he said. “We also need to keep working on our defensive structure and be more disciplined when we don’t have the ball.”

Marijne insisted that the team’s focus is not on which teams it faces, but on how it plays. “For us, it is not about the draw; it is about what we do on the pitch. At the World Cup, you have to bring your best in every match,” he said. “We respect all our opponents, but our main emphasis is on consistently playing our style of hockey with courage and clarity.”

India’s recent experience against England—its main rival in the qualifiers and a key opponent in Pool D—has already given the unit valuable insight into the level of intensity and execution required on the global stage. The 2–0 loss in the final was a disappointment, but the fact that India ended up as the second‑highest goal‑scoring team in the qualifiers reinforced the attacking promise of the side.

Looking ahead, the team’s calendar is packed with high‑level exposure trips designed to sharpen its edge for the World Cup. Marijne outlined a series of tours and tournaments, including campaigns in the USA and Argentina, participation in the Nations Cup in New Zealand, practice matches in Germany, and a set of fixtures in the Netherlands.“These series and camps together will give us a very good mix of competitive matches and intensive training, which will be essential for the World Cup and the Asian Games,” he said, framing the coming months as a continuous build‑up phase rather than a one‑off tune‑up.

With Pool D set to deliver a fierce combination of rank, rivalry and unpredictability, India’s coaching staff is banking on disciplined structure, ruthlessness in the circle and resilient defence. For Marijne, the objective is simple: let the quality of hockey, not the pressure of the draw, define how far the team goes in August 2026.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar