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Leading by a goal at half-time, India simply went missing from the mid-field duels that dictate the flow of any hockey encounter.
India suffer humiliating defeat in men’s Hockey World Cup Pool D match against England. (Picture Credit: X/@TheHockeyIndia)
Suffering the pangs of long periods of inactivity in a combat that demanded sustained action and penetrative raids, India were left shell-shocked by a 2-4 loss to England in a preliminary pool fixture of the Men’s Hockey World Cup.
Leading by a goal at half-time, India simply went missing from the midfield duels that dictate the flow of any hockey encounter. The strategy of playing low for a long period proved to be India’s undoing as England picked up the tempo and launched relentless attacks, to which the Indian response got marginalised.
Olympic bronze-medallists India’s campaign has now been hampered, but not completely decimated. They still have the opportunity to advance to the second round as one of the two top teams from Pool D by simply putting it across Pakistan in the last preliminary fixture on Wednesday.
The race to the semi-finals, however, will prove tougher as India would not carry any points against England into the second stage of the round-robin league that has replaced the quarter-finals in the new format introduced for this World Cup.
Simply because India had conceded vital territory, the English team looked several notches stronger. Yet, it was a needle contest with India coming out of their shell to seek a late equaliser, but the fourth England goal five minutes from the hooter put the match beyond India’s grasp.
This was England’s revenge for India knocking Great Britain out from the quarter-finals in the 2024 Paris Olympics. The International Hockey Federation (FIH) allows the hockey associations of Great Britain and England to replace each other. In FIH events, where England competes, Wales and Scotland play independently.
The painful feeling for Indian hockey watchers was that their team was not striving hard enough to keep the contest in the English territory.
The way England utilised the long and diagonal aerial passes caused immense trouble in the Indian camp. It was an aerial pass that opened the scoring for England as Nicholas Bandurak scored the first of his two goals by collecting a long aerial ball from Stuart Rushmere on top of the circle.
The nippy Bandurak weaved past defenders Harmanpreet Singh and Amit Rohidas before flicking past the stunned custodian in the 14th minute.
This reversal stung India hard and they resolutely struck back. Harmanpreet’s soaring penalty corner drag-flick brooked no denial as it went into the root of the net two minutes into the second quarter. Then came a peach of a goal that ought to be the feature of India’s display in this World Cup. Abhishek picked Hardik Singh’s cross from left and quickly directed it into the goalmouth where Dilpreet Singh applied the finishing touch.
Dilpreet punched the air after his deflection to convey his immense satisfaction of scoring this goal, which gave India a 2-1 lead at half-time. India had worked hard and enjoyed an edge in the run of play until this stage.
But what came on view after the interval was amusing, albeit not surprising to anyone who had followed coach Craig Fulton’s tactics. Wanting to hold on to the lead when the rivals are lying low and desperate for any gaps in the defence, Fulton prefers his wards to fall back in a defensive structure that can frustrate the rivals.
The strategy was evident to all, but things did not go according to laid-out plans. England gleefully accepted the free space they enjoyed and dented the Indian defence by mixing up long aerial balls and diagonal shots into the circle.
England rode on two field goals in the space of four minutes to surge ahead as Rushmere (39th minute) and Henry Croft (43rd minute) fired on target after collecting passes deep inside the Indian zone.
After slipping behind a second time in this match, India tried to build momentum again, but it proved difficult with England now in the driver’s seat. Then came Bandurak’s second goal through a firm grounder and the result was sealed against India.
(The Writer is reporting from his 10th Senior Men’s Hockey World Cup)
August 18, 2026, 07:00 IST
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