FIH Men's World Cup 2026: Harmanpreet Singh happy with India's campaign opener against Wales

India captain Harmanpreet Singh on Saturday expressed satisfaction on his side's 3-1 victory over Wales in the men's Hockey World Cup opener, saying that it was important to win the first match by a good margin and get full three points.

"We played very well. Our aim was to create chances and score goals match after match. It doesn't matter who is the man of the match or who is scoring the goals. We just need to score goals. We played with that mindset," Harmanpreet, who scored a brace in the team's win, said after the match.

"It was important to begin with a good win. We won 3-1 and took three points, which is a good result," he added.

Wales scored in the final minutes to deny India a clean sheet, but Harmanpreet said his team would learn from their mistakes in future matches.

"We tried our best, but they also played well. This was only the first match, and we will try not to make mistakes in future matches." said the ace drag-flicker.

India scored all three goals from penalty corners, while coach Craig Fulton has consistently emphasized field goals.

Asked about this, the Indian captain said, "Our forward line performed well and earned several penalty corners. Whether they score field goals or create PCs, goals are important for the team."

On the Indian team's performance before the World Cup, he said that ups and downs were part of the game.

"Currently, the team's focus is on the World Cup and we are in good form, well prepared, and confident of a podium a finish."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Bridge Desk. It is published from a syndicated feed)