Hyderabad: The India women’s national field hockey team have secured their place in the FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup 2026 after an impressive run in the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup Qualifiers 2026 being held in Hyderabad.
India confirmed their qualification for the World Cup after finishing top of Pool B with seven points from three matches, registering two wins and one draw during the group stage. Although Scotland also collected seven points, India topped the group on the basis of a superior goal difference.
The hosts began their campaign with a commanding 4–0 victory over Uruguay, followed by a 2–2 draw against Scotland. They then sealed the top spot in the group with a convincing 4–1 win against Wales, with forward Navneet Kaur delivering a standout performance by scoring a hat-trick.
With this strong showing, India have also booked their berth at the 2026 Women’s Hockey World Cup under tournament rules, which grant a World Cup place to the highest-ranked fourth-placed team across the two qualifying events.
Currently ranked ninth in the world, India secured this position ahead of Japan, who finished fourth in the Santiago qualifiers and are ranked 15th.
The other qualifying tournament in Santiago concluded earlier, where Australia women’s national field hockey team, Ireland women’s national field hockey team, and Chile women’s national field hockey team claimed direct qualification spots.
Having achieved one of their major goals, India will now turn their focus to the title challenge. The hosts will face Italy women’s national field hockey team in the semi-final of the qualifiers, while England women’s national field hockey team will take on Scotland women’s national field hockey team in the other last-four clash.
Speaking ahead of the semifinal, India’s head coach Sjoerd Marijne praised the team’s performance and emphasized their ambition to go further in the tournament.
“Securing qualification for the 2026 Women’s World Cup is an important milestone for this group. The players have shown discipline, composure and attacking intent throughout the pool stage,” he said.
“At the same time, our mindset is clear — we are not here just to qualify. We want to keep improving with every match and aim to win the tournament.”
India will now look to continue their winning momentum in front of the home crowd in Hyderabad as they battle Italy for a place in the final of the qualifiers.
Source: FIH, Sportstar
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