Daijiworld Media Network - Amstelveen

Amstelveen, Aug 18: The Indian women's hockey team will take on South Africa in their second Pool D match of the FIH Women's World Cup 2026 in Amstelveen, Netherlands, on Tuesday, looking to secure their first victory of the tournament.

India opened their campaign with a 2-2 draw against Olympic silver medallists China. The result left India and China level on points, while England moved to the top of Pool D after their opening victory.

Ahead of the South Africa clash, Indian head coach Sjoerd Marijne said the team would not get caught up in calculations after dropping two points against China and would instead focus on its own strengths and performance.

South Africa enter the match looking to recover from a difficult start after suffering a 4-0 defeat to England in their opening game.

The top two teams from each of the four pools will qualify for the next stage of the competition, making the encounter important for both India and South Africa.

Meanwhile, the Indian men's hockey team suffered a 2-4 defeat against England in their second Pool D match of the FIH Men's World Cup in Amstelveen on Monday.

India initially fell 1-0 behind but produced a strong response to take a 2-1 lead into half-time. Harmanpreet Singh and Dilpreet Singh scored for India.

England, however, turned the match around in the second half. Stuart Rushmere, Henry Croft and Nicholas Bandurak scored as England completed a 4-2 victory.

India had begun their men's World Cup campaign with a 3-1 win over Wales and now have three points from two matches.

India will face Pakistan in their final Pool D match on Wednesday in a crucial encounter that will determine their qualification hopes. The Indian team needs at least a draw to advance to the second round, while a defeat would eliminate them from the tournament.