India’s women’s hockey team drew 2-2 with Paris Olympics silver medallists China in a Pool D opener at the Hockey World Cup 2026 in Amstelveen, Netherlands, on Sunday. Navneet Kaur and Deepika scored for India, who led 2-1 at halftime, while Zhang Ying and Ma Ning replied for China to salvage a point. The result leaves both sides level on points from their toughest assignment in the pool.
There is a particular cruelty to a match India dominated for long stretches yet could not win, and an even sharper one when the equaliser arrives twice from the same opponent. Salima Tete’s side had done the hard part — imposing themselves, restricting China’s rhythm, taking the lead not once but twice — only to watch the scoreboard reset each time. By the closing minutes, with a stick’s width separating frustration from breakthrough, the story of this World Cup opener had already been written: India the better side, China the more stubborn one.
Amstelveen, Netherlands: This was billed as India’s toughest test in Pool D, and it delivered exactly that kind of contest — one decided as much by nerve as by skill.
A Bright Start Undone by Zhang Ying’s Stroke
India could not have asked for a better beginning. Navneet Kaur struck early to give her side the lead, capping a first quarter in which India controlled possession and denied China any semblance of their usual fluency.
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That dominance, though, invited a response, and China found one from the penalty spot. Zhang Ying converted a penalty stroke to draw the Olympic silver medallists level, a reminder that composure from set-pieces can undo even the sharpest attacking start.
Deepika’s Corner Restores the Advantage
India regrouped quickly. In the second quarter, Deepika found the target from a penalty corner, restoring India’s lead and ensuring they went into the break on top.
At halftime, the picture looked promising for India: 2-1 up, and still the side dictating terms. China had shown signs of life but had not yet found a way to play through India’s structure at will.
Ma Ning Levels It, and the Final Quarter Slips Away
The third quarter belonged to China. Ma Ning found the equaliser to make it 2-2, shifting the momentum just as India would have wanted to press home their advantage.
What followed was the passage that will linger longest for India’s camp. A penalty corner appeal in the final quarter went unanswered — a decision the coaching staff reportedly felt could have changed the complexion of the result. Navneet Kaur, so influential earlier in the match, drove one last attempt to break into China’s circle in the dying moments, but the chance would not fall India’s way. The match finished level, 2-2.
The Verdict from Amstelveen
For a team that restricted a Paris Olympics silver medallist for large periods of the match, a draw will feel like points dropped rather than a point earned. India’s control in the opening quarter and their response after conceding both showed a side capable of matching China’s pedigree; what eluded them was the ruthlessness to close it out when the moments mattered most.
China, for their part, will take the resilience of two second-half comebacks as evidence of the composure that took them to Paris silver. For India, the challenge now is to convert territorial and tactical dominance into results — a theme that will define their tournament as they turn to their remaining Pool D fixtures with a share of the spoils to build on, rather than the win their performance perhaps warranted.
