FIH Pro Hockey League 2025-26: Indian Men’s Hockey Team Performance In League

The Indian men’s hockey team finished 8^th in the FIH Pro Hockey League 2025-26. They played a total of 16 matches including 4 wins outright, 2 wins via penalty shootout, 2 losses via penalty shootouts and 7 losses. 

Under the leadership of Harmanpreet Singh, India finished with 19 points but due to a goal difference of -8 as compared to -2 of Spain. 

India’s leg performance 

The Indian team had a disappointing outing in India’s leg at Rourkela. They began their campaign with 1-3 loss to Belgium on 11^th February 2026. Onana scored the first goal for Belgium via field goal in the 23^rd minute. Lakra made it 1-1 with a lovely penalty corner goal in the 29^th minute.  

Crols (53^rd minute) and Van Dessel (57^th minute) helped Belgium to register a 3-1 win over the hosts. The Indian hockey team were completely outplayed by Argentina with a 0-8 scoreline on 12^th February. Ruiz scored the first goal for Argentina in the 14^th minute. T Domene scored 4 goals in the 15^th, 20^th, 26^th minute. Ibarra scored during the 25^th minute, which made life tough for the Indian team. 

Della Tore scored a lovely goal in the 30^th minute to lead Argentina's domination. T Domene made it 8-0 with a superb shot during the last minute. 

India performed decently before losing 2-4 against Belgium on 14^th February. Labuchoree scored the first goal for Belgium in the 11^th minute via penalty corner. Alexandar Hendrick doubled the lead with a penalty corner goal in the 14^th minute. Belgium scored 3 more goals during the 15th and 17^th minutes to make it 4-0. 

Lalage scored the first goal for India in the 24^th minute, while captain Harmanpreet Singh scored the second one during the 37th minute to reduce the goal margin.

The Indian team again suffered a narrow loss to Argentina with a 2-4 scoreline. T Domene scored the first goal for Argentina in the 18^th minute. Marcucci scored 2 goals in the 28^th and 49^th minutes. Mendez scored another goal in the 43^rd minute. 

Lalage (50th minute) and Sanjay (59^th minute) scored the goals for India to reduce the margin to 2-4. 

Australia Leg 

India’s poor performance continued in the first match of the Australian leg against Spain on 21^st February 2026. Despite creating lots of chances, the Indian team suffered a 0-2 loss.

Abjao scored a lovely penalty corner in the 6^th minute to give Spain a 1-0 lead. Cobos made it 2-0 for Spain in the 36^th minute. It was an impressive by India but Spain looked in complete control. 

The Indian team earned their first point of the tournament with a 2-2 draw against Australia on 22^nd February at Hobart. Rohidas scored the first goal for India in the 15^th minute to make it 1-0. Jugraj showed his class with a lovely penalty corner goal in the 43rd minute, allowing India to double the lead at 2-0. 

Australia made a strong comeback, with Rintala scoring lovely goals in the 47^th and 56^th minutes to level scores at 2-2. Lakra, Maninder, Pal, Jugraj Singh scored goals for India in shootouts, while Aditya missed. The Australian team scored all 5 goals, winning by 5-4. 

It was another heartbreak for India as they drew 1-1 with Spain and lost in the shootouts by 4-3. Maninder Singh scored lovely goal in the 19^th minute. Indian defense looked solid before Font scored in the 59th minute to level scores at 1-1. 

Lakra, Maninder and Pal scored the goals for India, while Abhishek & Hardik missed the shots. Spain scored all 4 goals. 

India eventually tasted success with their first outright victory over Australia. It was a closely fought affair as India and Australia level the scores at 1-1. After intense first three quarters, Hayward scored the first goal for Australia in the 49^th minute. 

Shailand Lakra scored the equaliser for India with a lovely goal in the 51^st minute. Lakra, Maninder & Vishnukant scored the goals, while the Indian goalkeeper produced 3 lovely saves. 

European Leg 

The European leg saw the Indian hockey team perform brilliantly, winning against Germany and the Netherlands, twice against arch-rivals Pakistan, and finishing the tournament with a thrilling shootout win over hosts England. 

The Indian team started their tournament with a 2-3 loss to the Netherlands on 14^th June at Rotterdam. Bukkens made a perfect start for the hosts with a lovely goal in the 3^rd minute itself. Dilpreet Singh scored the equaliser with a field goal in the 10^th minute. Bijen made it 2-1 for the Netherlands with a field goal during the 23rd minute. 

Sukhjeet Singh scored from a penalty corner in the 33^rd minute to level the scores at 2-2. Reyenga showed his class with a superb dragflick goal during the 40th minute, giving the Netherlands a 3-2 lead. Despite some performances, India lost by a narrow scoreline. 

India performed brilliantly with a superb 3-1 win over Germany. Mandeep Singh scored the first goal for the Indian team via field goal in the 7^th minute. Lakra doubled the score for India with another superb goal in the 13^th minute. Nilkanta made it 3-0 with a superb field goal in the 35th minute. Hartkopf provided a consolation goal for Germany in the 45th minute. 

The Indian team suffered heartbreak, losing against Germany in their reverse fixture by 1-2 on 18^th June 2026 at Rotterdam. Jugraj Singh converted a penalty corner for India in the 38^th minute, making it 1-0. 

The Indian team's defence looked solid till the end before Weigand's (56^th) and Brillia's (60^th minute) goals helped Germany win the match 2-1. 

It was a remarkable performance by the Indian hockey team as they stunned the Netherlands in a thrilling 3-2 win played on 21^st June 2026. Jugraj Singh scored from a penalty corner during the 18^th minute to give a 1-0 lead. Van der Heijden made it 1-1 for the Netherlands with a drag dragflick in the 19th minute. 

Abhishek scored a lovely goal in the 27^th minute to give India a 2-1 lead. There were no goals in the 3^rd quarter and late till the 4^th quarter. Rajinder scored from a penalty corner in the 56^th minute to allow India a 3-1 lead. Bijen scored via PC in the 59^th minute to reduce the score at 2-3. 

The Indian team produced a good performance against arch-rivals Pakistan by 4-3 at London on 23^rd June. Nadeem scored the first goal for Pakistan with a penalty corner in the 8^th minute. Abhishek (22^nd) and Nilankata (24^th minute) helped India to take a 2-1 lead. Sukhjeet Singh scored the third goal for India in the 40^th minute. Rajinder made it 4-1 with a lovely penalty corner goal in the 52nd minute. Mahmood (53^rd minute) and Shakeel (60^th minute) scored from PCs to reduce the score to 3-4. 

India and England were involved in a 2-2 draw before the Indian team lost in shootouts by 1-4 on 25^th June 2026 at London. Dilpreet Singh scored the first goal for India in the 10^th minute. It was a closely fought affair as both teams looked impressive. 

Goodfield scored a lovely field goal in the 29^th minute to level the scores at 1-1. Bandruak produces a superb penalty corner goal during the 56^th minute, making it 2-1 for England. Dilpreet Singh scored his 2^nd goal with a lovely field goal in the 58th minute to level scores at 2-2. Harmanpreet Singh was the only scorer for India in shootouts. 

The Indian team produced a dominating performance with a 7-1 win over arch-rivals Pakistan in the reverse fixture on 26^th June 2026. Mahmood scored the first goal for Pakistan with a penalty corner in the 13th minute. Sukhjeet Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Hardik, Jugraj Singh, Abhishek, Pal & Dilpreet Singh scored the goals for India. 

The final match of the league stage saw India win against hosts England via penalty shootouts. There was nothing to separate between these teams at the end of 4 quarters with the scoreline reading 0-0. 

Abhishek, Lakra and Hardik scored the goals for India in the shootouts while England missed 3 shots as the Indian team won by 3-2. 

Top Goal Scorers For India 

Dilpreet Singh and Jugraj Singh scored 4 goals each in the entire tournament. Shailand Lakra, Abhishek Nain & Sukhjeet Singh converted 3 goals each for the Indian team. Aditya Lalage, Nilkanta Sharma, Harmanpreet Singh & Rajinder Singh scored 2 goals each for the Indian team. Rajkumar Pal, Sanjay Rana, Amit Rohidas, Hardik Singh, Mandeep Singh and Maninder Singh scored 1 goal each in this entire tournament.