Hyderabad, March 4, 2026: The Italy women’s national hockey team arrived in Hyderabad for the upcoming FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 Qualifiers Hyderabad, Telangana. Scheduled from March 8 to 14, eight nations will compete for three crucial berths for the much-anticipated tournament in Belgium and the Netherlands later this year in August.
Italy have been placed in Pool A, where they will face England, Korea and Austria. The European side has previously qualified for the FIH Hockey World Cup twice, first in 1976 and most recently in 2018, where they recorded their best-ever finish of ninth place.
Italy will open their campaign with a clash against England on 8th March, followed by matches against Austria and Korea on 9th and 11th March respectively.
On the occasion, Captain of the Italy women’s national hockey team, Sara Puglisi said, “We have just arrived in Hyderabad after a good period of preparation with the team. We are ready to compete and achieve the results we need to qualify for the FIH Hockey World Cup. That is what we hope and that’s what we have trained so hard for.”
About HOCKEY INDIA
HOCKEY INDIA (HI) is the governing body with exclusive mandate to direct and conduct all activities for both men and women’s hockey in India. It is recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Govt. of India as the sole body responsible towards promoting Hockey in India.
Headquartered in New Delhi, Hockey India was established on 20th May, 2009 and is affiliated to the International Hockey Federation (FIH), the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and Asian Hockey Federation (AHF).
Committed to the development of Hockey in the country, Hockey India with the assistance of Sports Authority of India and Department of Sports, Government of India, trains players at sub-junior, junior and senior level. The governing body engages in Coaching the coaches with International Standard certification programs, educates and equips technical officials and umpires to find a foothold in international arena, provides world-class infrastructure and International exposure for the players besides regular international competition. Hockey India has also pioneered in bringing top International hockey events to India such as the FIH Men’s World Cup in 2010 and 2018, FIH Champions Trophy in 2014, FIH Junior Men’s World Cup in 2016 and 2021, FIH Hockey World League Final in 2017. With its vision to popularize the game and constantly promote it, Hockey India brought the Indian Men’s Hockey Team into the top three in the world. Hockey India is also dedicated to getting the Indian Women’s Hockey Team into the top three in the world.
About ODISHA
Odisha – the Eastern State of India – is known for its love for Hockey and over the years it has evolved to be the Global Hub of Hockey. The State successfully hosted the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018, followed by the FIH Men’s Series Finals Bhubaneswar Odisha, FIH Olympic Qualifiers Odisha, and FIH Hockey Pro League 2020-21. Odisha has previously hosted the Champions Trophy 2014 and the Odisha Men’s Hockey World League Final Bhubaneswar 2017. Odisha also hosted the FIH Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup in 2021.
Kalinga Lancers, the team owned by the State, were the winners in the Hockey India League 2017. Taking a step further towards realising the dream of restoring the glory of Indian Hockey at the global level, the State is sponsoring the Indian Hockey Teams till 2033.
Odisha also hosted the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 and the Rourkela and Bhubaneswar legs of the FIH Hockey Pro League 2022/23 and 2023/24.
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