Men’s team: India 3-0 Pakistan

• Harmeet Desai got things going, beating Khan Muhammad 11-4, 11-3, 11-5 in straight games
• Sathiyan Gnanasekaran extended the lead, defeating Abbas Khan 11-1, 11-8, 11-9
• Payas Jain sealed the clean sweep, beating Khan Muhammad 11-2, 11-5, 11-7

India didn’t drop a single game across the tie. This was a much-needed bounce-back after a shock defeat to Iran earlier in the tournament (India had opened their campaign with a win over Indonesia). The win moved India to the top of Group F with five points from three matches, ahead of Iran — though Iran still had a match against Indonesia left to play.

Women’s team: India 3-0 Pakistan

• Sutirtha Mukherjee opened with a 3-0 win over Aleena Khan (11-3, 11-3, 11-4)
• Syndrela Das, playing her first match on the big stage, beat Kalsoom Khan 11-6, 11-7, 11-5
• Sreeja Akula closed it out, defeating Fatima Khan 11-4, 11-5, 11-5

This was the women’s third win in three matches — their quickest and most dominant result of the tournament so far — and it came right after a hard-fought 3-2 win over Singapore the day before. The victory booked India’s spot in the women’s team quarterfinals (advancing straight to the Round of 16/quarterfinal stage), with their next match scheduled for September 22.

The bigger picture: India’s table tennis campaign is drawing on a growing legacy at the Asian Games — the men’s team won India’s first-ever table tennis medal at Jakarta 2018, and Sutirtha Mukherjee (part of today’s winning women’s side) already has an Asian Games bronze from Hangzhou 2023 in women’s doubles. Seven golds are up for grabs in table tennis at these Games, with the team events wrapping up before individuals take over and finals set for September 28.

The full schedule (Sept 27 – Oct 17):

• ODIs: 1st – Sept 27, Thiruvananthapuram (Greenfield International Stadium); 2nd – Sept 30, Guwahati (Barsapara Cricket Stadium); 3rd – Oct 3, New Chandigarh
• T20Is: 1st – Oct 6, Lucknow; 2nd – Oct 9, Ranchi; 3rd – date TBD, Indore; 4th – Oct 14, Hyderabad; 5th – Oct 17, Bengaluru (marking M. Chinnaswamy Stadium’s return to hosting internationals since October 2024)

Captaincy split: Shubman Gill leads the ODI side while Shreyas Iyer captains the T20I team — a dual-captaincy setup, with Shai Hope leading the West Indies.

India’s ODI squad: Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (VC, WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Mohammed Siraj, Auqib Nabi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Naman Dhir.

India’s T20I squad: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Tilak Varma (VC), Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, and Mayank Yadav.

Why this series matters: This marks India’s return to 50-over cricket after a rough tour of England, where the team suffered a 3-0 ODI series defeat, on top of losing the T20I series against both Ireland and England. That dip in form came right after a high point earlier in the year — India had won the 2026 T20 World Cup, swept Afghanistan 3-0 in ODIs, and won a one-off Test against them. Ahead of squad selection, Rishabh Pant’s potential ODI comeback and Hardik Pandya’s fitness were reportedly major talking points for selectors, and the T20I squad was expected to largely mirror the Asian Games squad, while the ODI side had more loose ends given several key players’ absence for the Asian Games.

What’s next: After the West Indies series, India continue building toward the 2027 World Cup with a five-match ODI series in New Zealand starting November 4, and a home white-ball season that also includes Sri Lanka (Dec 13–27) and Zimbabwe (January), before a marquee five-Test home series against Australia from January 21 to March 7.

Tournament Overview

The tournament will be co-hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands from August 15-30, 2026, making it the first-ever co-hosted Men’s Hockey World Cup. It features 32 teams total (16 men’s, 16 women’s), with men’s and women’s competitions being staged simultaneously across two venues — Wagener Hockey Stadium in Amstelveen, Netherlands, and the newly built Belfius Hockey Arena in Wavre, Belgium. Belgium and the Netherlands won hosting rights in 2022, beating bids from England-Wales and South Africa.

India Men’s Team

Harmanpreet Singh will captain India, with Hockey India naming a 20-member squad. India has been drawn in Pool D alongside England, Pakistan and Wales, and will play all group-stage matches at Wagener Hockey Stadium in Amstelveen.

Key fixtures (all times IST when broadcast in India):

• Aug 15: India vs. Wales (opener)
• Aug 17: India vs. England
• Aug 19: The blockbuster India vs. Pakistan clash — arguably the tournament’s most-watched match on the Indian broadcast calendar.

Chief Coach Craig Fulton has expressed confidence in the team’s potential to create a significant moment in Indian hockey history, and the knockout stages begin August 21, with the final on August 30.

India Women’s Team

<cite name=”women squad” index=”275-1″>Salima Tete continues as captain of India’s 20-member squad, described by chief coach Sjoerd Marijne as a balanced mix of experienced players and emerging talent.</cite> The squad is currently training at the national camp in Bengaluru, with the same core group also set to represent India at the upcoming Asian Games.

Confidence is high after India’s unbeaten, title-winning run at the FIH Nations Cup in New Zealand, which also earned promotion back into the FIH Pro League — solid momentum heading into the World Cup.

Key fixtures: India opens against China on August 16, followed by South Africa on August 18, and England on August 20.

New Format — Why It Matters

This edition introduces a new format with a second group stage replacing the traditional straight-to-quarterfinal knockout. The pool stage feeds into a second-round group phase (Pools E/F) for the top two finishers from each group, while bottom-two finishers enter classification pools (G/H) — guaranteeing every team at least five matches before the knockout stage, rather than early elimination after just three games. The women’s final will be held in Amsterdam on August 29, and the men’s final in Wavre on August 30.

Broadcast in India

Live telecast will air on the Star Sports Network, with live streaming available via the JioHotstar app and website.

Why This Story Has Big Engagement Potential

• The India-Pakistan hockey rivalry remains one of the most emotionally charged fixtures in Indian sport, second only to cricket’s version of the rivalry.
• This comes right on the heels of India’s strong CWG boxing performance and ahead of the BWF World Championships in Delhi — meaning mid-to-late August is shaping up as a genuinely packed Indian sports calendar, giving your channel a strong multi-week content runway.
• India last hosted the Men’s World Cup themselves in 2023 (Bhubaneswar/Rourkela), where Germany won gold — so there’s a natural “can India go one better this time” narrative angle.