It was not a good day for Indian hockey, whether for the men’s or women’s side. Both teams were knocked out in the second round by the same nation, the Netherlands. India’s men’s hockey team suffered a disappointing 1-3 defeat to co-hosts and Olympic champions the Netherlands in their Pool E encounter at the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 on Saturday. This came after the women’s team were defeated.
Hockey star reacts to 3-1 loss as India drops to bottom of Pool E at FIH Hockey World Cup 2026
The Dutch side took control in the second half with goals from Duco Telgenkamp, Tjep Hoedemakers and Thijs van Dam. Captain Harmanpreet Singh pulled one back for India from a penalty corner, but it proved insufficient. The result leaves India bottom of Pool E with zero points from two matches and a goal difference of -4.
Following the loss, Hardik Singh reacted to the disappointing result. He, as per a clip by PTI, said:
"Loss is on us individually, we will learn from this."
The Netherlands sit top with six points from two wins. England and Argentina complete the group. With only one match remaining against Argentina, India’s path to the semi-finals is no longer in their own hands. They will need a strong result in their final group game and favourable outcomes elsewhere if they are to keep their tournament hopes alive.
The Indian side had entered the second stage without points after an earlier loss and now face an uphill battle to progress further in the competition being co-hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands.
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