Hockey Women’s World Cup 2026: Ruthlessness defines India’s 6-1 thumping of South Africa

Ruthlessness. The word that defined India’s 6-1 thumping of South Africa in the ongoing Women’s Hockey World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium. The salient feature of their triumph was how their intensity levels didn’t drop for most of the four quarters. There were as many as six different goalscorers, while India’s defensive structure also held up well.

In fact, India’s resurgence goes beyond just a facile victory over South Africa. For a period of time, India looked like the better side compared with China in their opening encounter of the World Cup. Here, one has to remember that China were the silver medallists at the Paris Olympics. Just travel further back in time to June, and India also won the Nations Cup by defeating New Zealand in the final. India even held the higher-ranked Australia to a 2-2 series draw Down Under.

A large share of the credit goes to Sjoerd Marijne, the India head coach, for improving the players’ fitness. “Our first priority right now is fitness, which is a very important aspect for us. Alongside that, the focus is on coming together and functioning as a strong unit,” Marijne told SAI in February this year. “From there on, we can work on all the other things like techniques.”

Dutch penalty-corner legend Taeke Taekema was also brought in to improve India’s penalty-corner conversion rate. The highly regarded Dr Wayne Lombard, too, joined the Indian set-up as the Scientific Advisor and Head of Sports Performance.

Even in terms of tactics and technique, India have put on a fine show in the World Cup so far. For instance, when they had to defend against South Africa, they still maintained positional control. In turn, that helped them press forward.

Next up for India are England, who ended up losing to China in the group phase. The seventh-ranked England side would be expected to put up a gritty show in this crucial match. But they aren’t anywhere in the class of the Great Britain side led by Kate Richardson-Walsh, which went on to win Olympic gold in 2016.

A mere glance at India’s form suggests they have a more-than-decent chance of overturning the previous result between the two sides at the FIH World Cup qualifiers, where England won 2-0. More importantly, India will look to chisel out a path into the second round of the World Cup.