FIH Hockey World Cup: Out From Semfinal Race But India's Campaign Doesn't End; Here’s How
Total Views |
The Indian men’s hockey team suffered a heartbreak in the stage 2 fixture of the Hockey World Cup 2026 against Argentina as they suffered a 3-5 defeat. With the loss, India crashed out of the race to the semifinals, and the men’s team has not reached the last four in the tournament for more than 50 years.
Argentina’s win over England kept India’s hopes of reaching the semifinals alive, but they needed to win the match by at least three goals to make it into the top four. India have crashed out of the race to the semifinals, but they are not out of the tournament completely. They won’t be reaching the semis, but something will be at stake in the last match they will play in the tournament.
Argentina’s early control and India’s late fightback
When it mattered the most, the Indian team failed to step up to the occasion. A fast game composed of quick passes and dribbles was needed, but instead the Argentine team looked more threatening in the opposition half.
Joaquin Toscani gave Argentina a lead in the opening minute as he fired one past goalkeeper Mohit HS. Nicolas Della Torre doubled the advantage in the sixth minute, and Argentina were leading 2-0 soon.
Sukhjeet Singh pulled one back for India in the 10th minute, scoring a goal on the ball set up by Abhishek. The score was 2-1 in favour of Argentina at halftime, and they came back stronger in the second half.
Tomas Domene scored a goal in the 33rd minute and also converted a penalty stroke a few minutes later to extend Argentina’s lead to 4-1. Lucas Toscani score fifth goal in the 53rd minute. Sukhjeet and Hardik Singh scored goals for India before the conclusion of the play, but they were not enough to prevent a loss.
How is India still alive in the competition?
India have been eliminated from the race to the semifinals, but they will still play the classification match. India finished the second page without any points from three matches in Pool E, and so they will now drop into the classification matches. The team will now play for seventh or eighth place in their final game and so the campaign is not over for the team.