Pakistan crash out of Hockey World Cup with gruelling defeat against India

Pakistan crash out of Hockey World Cup with gruelling defeat against India

By Nawaz Gohar ; Harmanpreet Singh and Abhishek both scored a brace as India inflicted a crushing 5-3 defeat on arch-rivals Pakistan in the high-stakes Pool D clash of the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 here at the Wagener Stadium on Wednesday.

The Men in Blue made a dominant start to the blockbuster fixture as they netted the opener in just the fifth minute, with Harmanpreet Singh successfully converting a penalty corner.

Abhishek doubled India’s lead in the 11th minute through a sensational field goal, which persisted until the conclusion of the first quarter.

The second quarter got off to a similar start as Singh struck again for India through a penalty corner, extending their lead to 3-0 in the 21st minute.

Pakistan eventually pulled one back the following minute through Hannan Shahid’s field goal, only for Abhishek to restore India’s advantage a minute later. The Green Shirts pulled one back again at the 24th minute mark, with Sufyan Khan converting a penalty corner.

The two teams went into the halftime with the scoreline reading 4-2 in India’s favour, and they were awarded a penalty stroke just four minutes after the break, which Hardik Singh successfully converted to bolster their lead.

Although the Green Shirts were awarded a penalty corner in the 41st minute, they remained unable to score in the penultimate quarter. They, however, made a spirited start to the final quarter, with Shahid scoring his second to cut India’s lead to 5-3.

Both teams then made desperate attempts to score in the dying minutes, but the scoreline remained intact at 5-3 until the final whistle.

The defeat meant the national team failed to win a single match in the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026, as they suffered a 4-1 defeat at the hands of England in their campaign opener before salvaging a 3-3 draw against Wales in their subsequent pool-stage fixture.