India is among the four nations who have taken part in the all editions of the Men’s World Cup. The hockey-conscious nation has scored 201 goals so far, while conceding 190. India also has a record of hosting most the prestigious event four times, which is being levelled by The Netherlands now.
Despite winning bronze, Silver and Gold respectively in the first three World Cups, its fortunes at the World Cups have steadily shown a downward trend, even finishing at the bottom of the ranking once. However, each time India takes up the World Cup campaign, hopes are raised.
167 Indians have so far had the fortune to participate in the World Cup. Five of them have the honour of playing four times.
The hall of fame (Four-time World Cup)
Ashok Kumar (1971, 1973, 1975, 1978)
Dhanraj Pillay (1990,1994, 1998, 2002)
PR Sreejesh (2010,1014, 2018,2023)
Manpreet Singh (2014, 2018, 2023, 2026)
Mandeep Singh (2014, 2018, 2023, 2026)
Maximum medal winners (3: 1 Gold, 1 Silver 1 Bronze)
Ashok Kumar
Harcharan Singh
Ajit Pal Singh
Michael Kindo
India’s top goal scorers at World Cup
1st: Rajinder Singh Sr. 12 (all PCs in a single WC)
2nd: Surjit Singh: 11 (cumulative of 3 WCs)
3rd: Akashdeep Singh: 10 (Cumulative of 3 WCs)
World Cup NUMBERS
1. No of Indians who played WC: 167
2. No of Indians who won WC medal: 31
3. No of Indians who won WC medal once: 18
3. No of Indians who won WC medal twice: 9
4. No Indians who won Medals thrice: 4
Captain & Coach Details
| Year | Captain | Coach | |||
| 1971 | Ajit Pal Singh | Balbir Singh | |||
| 1973 | MP Ganesh | RS Gentle ? | |||
| 1975 | Ajit Pal Singh | GS Bodhi | |||
| 1978 | V J Philips | RS Gentle | |||
| 1981 | Surjit Singh | Harmik Singh | |||
| 1986 | Md. Shahid | Ajit Pal Singh | |||
| 1990 | Pargat Singh | MP Ganesh | |||
| 1994 | Jude Felix | Cedric D Souze | |||
| 1998 | Dhanraj Pillay | V Baskaran | |||
| 2002 | Baljit Dhillon | Cedric D Souze | |||
| 2006 | Dilip Tirkey | V Baskaran | |||
| 2010 | Raj Pal Singh | Jose Brasa | |||
| 2014 | Sardar Singh | Terry Walsh | |||
| 2018 | Manpreet Singh | Harendra Singh | |||
| 2023 | Harmanpreet Singh | Graham Reid | |||
| 2026 | Harmanpreet Singh | Craig Fulton | |||
India’s ranking in the World Cups
| 1971 | — | 3rd |
| 1973 | — | 2nd |
| 1975 | — | 1st |
| 1978 | — | 6th |
| 1981 | — | 5th |
| 1986 | — | 12th |
| 1990 | — | 10th |
| 1994 | — | 5th |
| 1998 | — | 9th |
| 2002 | — | 10th |
| 2006 | — | 11th |
| 2010 | — | 8th |
| 2014 | — | 9th |
| 2018 | — | 5th |
| 2023 | — | 9th |