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After making a heavy weather of its earlier pool and Super League games, the hosts India made a triumphant entry into the 2026 FIH  Hockey World Cup for men by winning the Hero Asia Cup Hockey Tournament at Rajgir in Bihar on Sunday. India defeated defending champions Korea 4-1 in the final after leading 4-0  till the last 10 minutes of the game.

Malaysia, which made a flying start in the tournament with impressive wins in its pool games, however, finished with a bronze medal.

Based on their performance at the Pan American Cup, Asia Cup, Oceania Cup and the EuroHockey Championships, the following men’s teams have qualified for the FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers 2026: USA, Canada, Chile, France, England, Austria, Poland, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, New Zealand and India, with one further side qualifying from Africa. The Netherlands, Germany and Australia have qualified on their performance in the FIH Hockey League.

Indian women, after making a flying start in the Asia Cup for women in China, played a 2-2 draw against Japan after its 11-0 win over Thailand. Only the winners of the Asia Cup for women would qualify for the 2026 World Cup to be held in Europe.

In the Asia Cup for men played at the new hockey centre, Rajgir in Bihar, India, were far from impressive in the beginning as the home team struggled to get past China 4-3 and Japan 3-2 before recording a resounding 15-0 win over lowly placed Kazakhstan.

Malaysia, on the other hand, gave an excellent account of itself in the pool games. Trained by former Olympian Sarjit Singh Kundan, it started with an impressive 4-1 win over Bangladesh. Its 4-1 win over Korea made the hockey lovers sit back and think about the re-emergence of the Malaysians, who thrashed Chinese Taipei 15-0 in their next game. Its giant killing spree continued as Malaysia surprised China 2-0.

They, however, folded up against the hosts India and lost 1-4. India, in its first Super 4 game, suffered a reverse, being held to a 2-2 draw by the defending champions, Korea. India got the equaliser only in the last few minutes of the game.

India asserted its supremacy in the third and final Super 4 game with a splendid 7-0 win over China to set a summit clash with Korea for the title as well as a berth in the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup for men.

Scoring once in each quarter, India raced to a comfortable 4-0 lead till the 50^th minute when the Koreans pulled one back to make it 1-4.

Meanwhile, New Zealand men's and women's teams have also  secured their berths in  the  FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 as the Oceania

Cup 2025 concluded today in Darwin, Australia, with New Zealand women and Australia men winning their respective competitions to be crowned the continental champions following 3-match series each. The win meant the Black Sticks women qualified for the upcoming FIH Hockey World Cup Belgium and Netherlands 2026 as champions of Oceania. 

With Australia men having already qualified for the World Cup via the FIH Hockey Pro League, New Zealand men, through their second-place finish, joined their women’s side in qualifying for the upcoming World Cup. 

The women’s competition at the Oceania Cup was an incredibly close affair, with neither team ceding an edge. The first match of the series was dominated by Australia, but it was New Zealand who took all three points, with captain Olivia Shannon’s final quarter goal making the difference. The second match followed a similar pattern, with Australia providing more attacking impetus but struggling to find the back of the goal. Their breakthrough finally came late in the game as Mariah Williams scored in the 56th minute to secure a 1-0 win for the Hockeyroos. 

With both teams registering a 1-0 win each, the standings heading into the final game were completely knotted. In a much more evenly balanced third match, Australia scored first near the end of the opening half, but constant New Zealand pressure finally paid off in the 53rd minute with Jessie Anderson scoring to level things up and send the series into a shoot-out.

New Zealand attackers were stellar in the shoot-outs, scoring on all 5 attempts, meaning one Grace O’Hanlon save, off the first of four Australian attempts, was enough to win the Oceania Cup 2025 for the Black Sticks, as well as getting them the qualification spot for the FIH Hockey World Cup Belgium and Netherlands 2026! 

"The World Cup is so important for us, we didn't qualify for Paris last year, and I think this series has shown that fight, that resilience, that energy that we've had from not qualifying for Paris," said captain Olivia Shannon after New Zealand's victory.

In the men’s competition, Australia were dominant throughout, winning all three matches in the series comfortably. The first match was sealed with a 2-0 win, with one early goal by Lachlan Sharp and a second late one by Nathan Ephraums getting the Kookaburras all three points. While the Black Stick men started the second game brightly, Australia scored early once again to snatch the momentum. A goal in each quarter by the Kookaburras meant a late New Zealand goal in the final quarter counted for little more than consolation in a 4-1 loss. 

New Zealand finally made their bright starts count in the third and final match of the men’s Oceania Cup, with captain Sam Lane giving the visitors the lead through a field goal. But the Australian attack ran rampant in the second quarter with three goals from Jack Welch, Ky Willott and Blake Govers turning the tide for the Kookaburras. A fourth goal, scored by Tim Brand, in the third quarter ended the contest, and Australia walked away with a 4-1 win and another Oceania Cup title. New Zealand, however, didn’t go back empty-handed as the direct World Cup qualification spot from Oceania belonged to them, since Australia had already qualified for the event through the FIH Hockey Pro League. 

Kookaburras captain Jeremy Hayward, speaking after lifting the Oceania Cup trophy, said: "Really looking forward to the World Cup. For now, we'll have a small break, we've got Hockey One, the national competition we'll play, and we'll enjoy in our separate teams, and then we'll come together again come January." 

New Zealand has now become the seventh team to qualify for the women’s FIH Hockey World Cup, Belgium and the Netherlands 2026.  Belgium and the Netherlands, on account of being hosts of the event, gained direct qualification. Germany and Argentina qualified through the previous two editions of the FIH Hockey Pro League.

The USA secured qualification through the Pan American Cup, and Spain qualified from the Eurohockey Championship. Continental championships in Africa and Asia will determine two more direct qualifiers for the event, with the remaining seven teams qualifying through the FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers in 2026.

Based on their performance at the Pan American Cup, EuroHockey Championships and the Oceania Cup the following women’s teams have qualified for the FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers 2026: Uruguay, Chile, Canada, Ireland, England, France, Italy, Wales, Scotland, Austria, Switzerland and Australia, with one more side qualifying from the ongoing Asia Cup and the Africa Cup. 

Australia and Spain qualified through the previous two editions of the FIH Hockey Pro League. Argentina secured qualification through the Pan American Cup, and Germany qualified from the Eurohockey Championship. Continental championships in Africa and Asia will determine two more direct qualifiers for the event, with the remaining seven teams qualifying through the FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers in 2026.