
Indian women's hockey captain Salima Tete has declared the team is determined to win the FIH Women's World Cup 2026, starting August 15 in the Netherlands and Belgium. The side enters after…
Indian women's hockey captain Salima Tete has declared the team is determined to win the FIH Women's World Cup 2026, starting August 15 in the Netherlands and Belgium. The side enters after winning the FIH Nations Cup in New Zealand. Tete told JioStar the team will play smart, attacking hockey and aim for gold.
India have featured in only eight of 15 World Cup editions since 1974, when they finished fourth. Financial and administrative problems often kept them out. They finished ninth in 2022. The Netherlands, Argentina, Australia and Germany are the only nations to have won the women's World Cup, with the Dutch claiming nine titles.

The hype around 'Chak De! India' moments often ignores the decades of institutional neglect that kept the women's team out of seven of 15 World Cups. Financial troubles, not lack of talent, forced those absences. Now Salima Tete's squad must prove the Nations Cup victory translates against elite opposition in a pool that includes the Netherlands. The real test: can they crack the top six, where only four nations have ever won the title?
Sources (3): deccanherald.com, hindustantimes.com, thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.