India began their FIH Women’s Hockey World Cup 2026 campaign with a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Olympic silver medallists China in their Group D opener at the Wagener Stadium here on Sunday.
Navneet Kaur and Deepika scored for India, while Zhang Ying and Ma Ning found the net for China in an entertaining contest.
India Make Strong Start
India took the lead in the eighth minute when Navneet converted an early opportunity to put the Sjoerd Marijne-coached side ahead.
China responded in the 15th minute through Zhang Ying, who scored from a penalty stroke to restore parity.
India regained the advantage before half-time, with Deepika finding the target from a penalty corner in the 25th minute.
China refused to give up and levelled the contest in the 39th minute when Ma Ning scored from a penalty corner.
Neither side could find a winning goal in the closing stages as the points were shared.
Navneet Wants India To Build On Lead
India forward Navneet said the result was positive but acknowledged that the team needed to learn from its inability to protect the advantage.
“It’s better than losing. We tried our best and played really good. It’s a lesson for us that we need to keep the lead when we score first,” Navneet said after the match.
She added that India started strongly before China put them under pressure, but the team managed to recover in the final quarter.
South Africa Next
The draw gives India a point from their opening Group D match as they look to secure a place in the knockout stages.
India will next face South Africa on Tuesday, August 18, at the same venue.
The Indian women’s team is still searching for its first World Cup medal and will hope to build momentum from its opening performance against China.
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