The Indian women's national field hockey team represents India in international field hockey, and is governed by Hockey India. They are one of the top 10 teams in the world and the best team in Asia. They have won the FIH Nations Cup twice, the gold at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. They won gold at the 1982 and the 2026 Asian Games. They have also won the Asia Cup twice, in 2004 and 2017, and the Asian Champions Trophy thrice, in 2016, 2023 and 2024. They have also won the FIH Women's World Hockey Series 2018–19 edition.
History The team's breakthrough performance came at the Women's Hockey World Cup at Mandelieu in 1974, where it finished in 4th place. Their best performance in the Olympic Games was at 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics (where they came in 4th), when a women's event was held for the first time in Olympic history. India beat Poland 4–0 in that tournament, which is their biggest margin of win in the Olympics. The team also won the Gold medal at the inaugural 1982 Asian Games held in New Delhi, defeating Korea in the finals. India also recorded their biggest win in the Asian Games by winning Hong Kong 22–0 in that Games. Captain Suraj Lata Devi led the team to the Gold for three consecutive years at different events- during the 2002 Commonwealth Games, the 2003 Afro-Asian Games, and the 2004 Women's Hockey Asia Cup. Team members were referred to as the "assi (Jasjeet) jaisi koi nahi" or the "Golden Girls of Hockey," after the 2004 win.The 2002 Commonwealth Games Squad, led by Captain Suraj Lata Devi, competed in the 2002 Commonwealth Games. The team entered the finals after defeating New Zealand and placed first, winning the gold after they beat England.
This event served as the inspiration for the 2007 Bollywood film about women's field hockey, Chak De! India starring Shah Rukh Khan (after screenwriter Jaideep Sahni read a short article about it). Sahni began to model the character of Kabir Khan on hockey coach Maharaj Krishan Kaushik. After hearing the storyline, Kaushik suggested that Sahni meet hockey player Mir Ranjan Negi (who faced accusations of throwing the match against Pakistan during the 1982 Asian Games). Sahni has stated that he was unaware of Negi's tribulations while writing the script and that the resemblance with Negi's life was entirely coincidental. Negi affirmed this point stating that he didn't "want to hog the limelight. This movie is not a documentary of Mir Ranjan Negi's life. It is in fact the story of a team that becomes a winning lot from a bunch of hopeless girls". In response to the fact that the media equated Kabir Khan with Negi, Sahni said, "Our script was written a year and a half back. It is very unfortunate that something, which is about women athletes, has just started becoming about Negi." The team earned a 3rd-place finish at the 2013 Women's Hockey Asia Cup at Kuala Lumpur defeating China in a shootout.
At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, they finished in 5th place but at 2014 Asian Games, Incheon stunned Japan 2–1 in a tight match to clinch their third bronze medal at the Asian Games. During the summer of 2015, the team hosted the Round 2 of the 2014–15 Women's FIH Hockey World League and finished on top to qualify for the next stage. At the World League Semi-finals held in Antwerp the team finished in the fifth place beating higher ranked Japan in classification match. The Indian woman's national field hockey team qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics for the first time since the 1980 Summer Olympics. They were eliminated in the group stage, however, where they placed 6th.
India at the 2020 Summer Olympics for the first time ever, reached the semi-final in the Women's Hockey Olympic event after beating the 3 times Olympic Champions Australia 1–0 in the quarter-final, but failed to bag any medal after they lost to Argentina in the semi-final and then to Great Britain in the bronze medal match. Vandana Katariya scored India's first and only hat-trick in Olympics, that helped the team to win South Africa 4–3 and enter the knockout stage. Following their performance at the Olympics, the team went to win bronze medals at the 2022 Asia Cup and the Commonwealth Games and a third-place finish in the 2021–22 Pro League. In 2022 India won the first ever FIH Women's Nations Cup. However, they failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics losing to Japan in the bronze medal match at the Olympic Qualifier in Ranchi on 19 January 2024. India won the 2026 FIH Nations Cup defeating New Zealand and returned to the 2026–27 FIH Pro League. India recorded its biggest win in the World Cup by defeating South Africa 6–1 in the 2026 World Cup. India secured the 5th place by beating Germany which marked their best finish in the World Cup after the 4th place in 1974 edition. India made their third biggest win in the Asian Games after winning Uzbekistan by 19–0 at the 2026 edition, where Deepika Sehrawat's 8 goals set the record of most goals in a match by a woman player at the Games. She broke her own record by scoring 9 in a match against Thailand. India clinched their second gold after 44 years, beating China and sealed their place in the 2028 Olympics.
Gallery
Performance record Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place Did not qualify Tournament played fully or partially on home soil
Major tournaments Summer Olympics Year Host Position Pld W D L GF GA 1980 Moscow, Soviet Union 4th 5 2 1 2 9 6 1984 Los Angeles, United States Did not participate 1988 Seoul, South Korea 1992 Barcelona, Spain 1996 Atlanta, United States 2000 Sydney, Australia Did not qualify 2004 Athens, Greece 2008 Beijing, China 2012 London, Great Britain 2016 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 12th 5 0 1 4 3 19 2020 Tokyo, Japan 4th 8 3 0 5 12 20 2024 Paris, France Did not qualify 2028 Los Angeles, United StatesQualified Total 4th place 18 5 2 11 24 45
Summer Olympics Qualifiers Year Host Position Result Pld W D L GF GA2000 Milton Keynes, England10thDid not qualify for 2000 Summer Olympics 5 0 0 5 3 122008 Kazan, Russia4thDid not qualify for 2008 Summer Olympics 6 2 0 4 14 122012 Delhi, IndiaRunners-upDid not qualify for 2012 Summer Olympics 6 3 1 2 12 102019 Bhubaneswar, India–Qualified for 2020 Summer Olympics 2 1 0 1 6 52024 Ranchi, India4thDid not qualify for 2024 Summer Olympics 5 2 1 2 10 6 Total Runners-up 24 8 2 14 45 45
World Cup Year Host Position Pld W D L GF GA 1974 Mandelieu, France 6 3 0 3 8 6 1976 West Berlin, West GermanyDid not participate 1978 Madrid, Spain 6 2 1 3 5 10 1981 Buenos Aires, ArgentinaDid not participate 1983 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 7 1 1 5 6 10 1986 Amstelveen, NetherlandsDid not qualify 1990 Sydney, Australia 1994 Dublin, Ireland 1998 Utrecht, Netherlands 7 0 0 7 9 23 2002 Perth, AustraliaDid not qualify 2006 Madrid, Spain 7 1 1 5 9 15 2010 Rosario, Argentina 6 2 0 4 11 23 2014 The Hague, NetherlandsDid not qualify 2018 London, England 5 1 3 1 5 3 2022 Amstelveen, Netherlands and Valencia, Spain 6 1 3 2 9 8 2026 Wavre, Belgium and Amstelveen, Netherlands 6 2 3 1 11 6 Total 4th place 56 13 12 31 73 104
World Cup Qualifiers Year Host Position Result Pld W D L GF GA1985 Buenos Aires, Argentina5thDid not qualify for 1986 World Cup 5 3 1 1 19 31989 Delhi, India8thDid not qualify for 1990 World Cup 7 2 0 5 17 141993 Philadelphia, USA6thDid not qualify for 1994 World Cup 7 3 0 4 6 72001 Abbeville and Amiens, France7thQualified for Qualifying Playoff 7 3 1 3 15 72002 Cannock, England–Did not qualify for 2002 World Cup 3 0 2 1 3 52026 Hyderabad, IndiaRunners-upQualified for 2026 World Cup 5 3 1 1 11 5 Total 2nd 34 14 5 15 71 41
Asian Games Year Host Position Pld W D L GF GA 1982 New Delhi, India 5 5 0 0 37 1 1986 Seoul, South Korea 5 3 1 1 17 5 1990 Beijing, China 4th 5 2 0 3 8 10 1994 Hiroshima, Japan 5 1 2 2 9 6 1998 Bangkok, Thailand 7 4 1 2 25 11 2002 Busan, South Korea 4th 4 0 0 4 2 12 2006 Doha, Qatar 7 4 0 3 22 10 2010 Guangzhou, China 4th 7 3 0 4 24 7 2014 Incheon, South Korea 5 3 0 2 13 7 2018 Jakarta, Indonesia 6 5 0 1 40 3 2022 Hangzhou, China 6 4 1 1 35 6 2026 Aichi–Nagoya, Japan 7 7 0 0 69 3 Total 2 titles 69 41 5 23 301 81
Asia Cup Year Host Position Pld W D L GF GA 1985 Seoul, South KoreaDid not participate 1989 Hong Kong 4th 4 1 0 3 4 11 1993 Hiroshima, Japan 4 2 1 1 8 4 1999 New Delhi, India 6 3 2 1 24 7 2004 New Delhi, India 5 4 1 0 19 3 2007 Hong Kong 4th 6 3 0 3 44 13 2009 Bangkok, Thailand 6 3 2 1 36 9 2013 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 5 2 1 2 18 5 2017 Kakamigahara, Gifu, Japan 6 5 1 0 28 5 2022 Muscat, Oman 5 3 0 2 22 6 2025 Hangzhou, China 7 3 2 2 32 13 Total 2 titles 54 29 10 15 235 76
Asian Champions Trophy Year Host Position Pld W D L GF GA2010 Busan, South Korea 4 1 0 3 8 152011 Ordos, China 4th 4 0 0 4 3 162013 Kakamigahara, Japan 4 2 0 2 10 62016 Singapore 5 3 1 1 10 72018 Donghae City, South Korea 5 3 1 1 11 62021 Donghae City, South Korea Withdrew2023 Ranchi, India 7 7 0 0 27 32024 Rajgir, India 7 7 0 0 29 2 Total 3 titles 36 23 2 11 98 55
Pro League Year Host Position Pld W D L GF GA2021–22 14 6 4 4 33 262022–23Replaced 2023–24 8th 16 2 1 13 16 382024–25 9th 16 2 3 11 22 432025–26Did not qualify2026–27Qualified Total Third place 46 10 8 28 71 107
Nations Cup Year Final Host Position Pld W D L GF GA2022 Valencia, Spain 5 4 1 0 9 32025–26 Auckland, New Zealand 5 5 0 0 16 5 Total 2 titles 10 9 1 0 25 8
Commonwealth Games Year Host Position Pld W D L GF GA 1998 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 4th 7 3 1 3 19 13 2002 Manchester, England 6 4 1 1 12 10 2006 Melbourne, Australia 6 3 1 2 19 8 2010 New Delhi, India 5th 5 3 1 1 15 4 2014 Glasgow, Scotland 5 3 0 2 22 9 2018 Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia 4th 6 3 0 3 9 12 2022 Birmingham, England 6 3 2 1 14 8 Total 1 title 41 22 6 13 110 64
Other tournaments South Asian Games Year Host Position Pld W D L GF GA2016 Guwahati, India 3 3 0 0 46 1 Total 1 title 3 3 0 0 46 1
Defunct competitions World League Year Host Round Position Pld W D L GF GA 2012–13 New Delhi, IndiaRound 21st5410242 Rotterdam, NetherlandsSemifinals7th6114528 2014–15 New Delhi, IndiaRound 21st6600391 Antwerp, BelgiumSemifinals5th7304719 2016–17 West Vancouver, CanadaRound21st431083 Johannesburg, South AfricaSemifinals8th7115415 Total 35 18 4 13 87 68
Champions Challenge I Year Final Host Position Pld W D L GF GA2002 Johannesburg, South Africa 5 2 2 1 10 92011 Dublin, Ireland 7th 6 2 1 3 11 82012 Dublin, Ireland 7th 6 2 1 3 13 152014 Glasgow, Scotland 8th 6 0 0 6 7 22 Total Third place 23 6 4 13 41 54
Champions Challenge II Year Final Host Position Pld W D L GF GA2009 Kazan, Russia 5 5 0 0 26 9 Total 1 title 5 5 0 0 26 9
Hockey Series Year Final Host Position Pld W D L GF GA2018–19 Hiroshima, Japan 5 5 0 0 27 4 Total 1 title 5 5 0 0 27 4
Afro-Asian Games Year Final Host Position Pld W D L GF GA2003 Hyderabad, India 5 4 0 1 26 7 Total 1 title 5 4 0 1 26 7
Hawke's Bay Cup Year Host Position Pld W D L GF GA2015 Hastings, New Zealand 7th 6 1 1 4 7 152016 6th 6 1 1 4 4 11 Total 6th 12 2 2 8 11 26
IFWHA World Conference Year Host Position Pld W D L GF GA1953 Folkestone, England 10th 6 2 04 11 271956 Sydney, Australia 9th 60 1 5 4 311971 Auckland, New Zealand 14th71 1 5 5111975 Edinburgh, Scotland 8th6 2 13 5 111979 Vancouver, United States 13th7 4 0 323 12 Total 32 9 3 2048 92
Honours Major tournaments Asian Games: Gold medal: 1982, 2026 Silver medal: 1998, 2018 Bronze medal: 1986, 2006, 2014, 2022 Asia Cup: Champions: 2004, 2017 Runner-up: 1999, 2009, 2025 Third Place: 1993, 2013, 2022 Asian Champions Trophy: Champions: 2016, 2023, 2024 Runner-up: 2013, 2018 Third Place: 2010 Pro League: Bronze Medal: 2021–22 Nations Cup: Champions: 2022, 2025–26 Commonwealth Games: Gold medal: 2002 Silver medal: 2006 Bronze medal: 2022
Other tournaments South Asian Games: Gold medal: 2016
Defunct tournaments Champions Challenge I: Bronze medal: 2002 Champions Challenge II: Champions: 2009 Hockey Series: Champions: 2018–19
Results and fixtures
Past results
2021–24 results