India did not lose any match in the first three ( 2 wins and a draw) held so far at Kalinga stadium. This show is by far the best opening stage performance for India on World Cups played on artificial turf.
Indian hockey’s edition wise win-loss performance in the World Cup on synthetic turf era (1986 to 2018) is disappointing. On 8 World Cups held so far India posted single victory in four of them (1986, 1990, 2006, 2010) over all.
On split up, India returned with nil victories in the pool on two occasions (1990, 2006). Only in 1994 (12 team competition) India posted two wins in the pool, while it was two wins in 2002 (16-team competition). In 1998, India had 2 wins in the classification matches, just one in pool.
With two wins and draw in first three matches, Harendra’s Indian team is poised for best ever performance eclipsing 1994 (where India finished fifth, best ever show of WCs on synthetic era).
1986       1       out of 7
1990       1       out of 7
1994       3       out of 7
1998       3       out of 7 (1 win pool)
2002       3       out of 7
2006       1       out of 6
2010       1       out of 6
2014       2       out of 6
2018       2       out of 3 & 1 draw (event underway