India, Aug. 16 -- Opening matches of World Cups across any team sport can be tricky. After a period of some leeway for combination and tactical experiments to "build on to" the tournament that matters, as head coach Craig Fulton put it ahead of India's curtain-raiser, there is little room left for slip-ups.

First acts may not define the campaign, but it can set the tone. For India, that first act of the 2026 Men's Hockey World Cup against Wales was fairly positive.

Against an opposition that sought crowdfunding to turn up at hockey's biggest showpiece, India dished out a relatively solid 3-1 victory in Pool D with all three goals coming from penalty corners (PC) at the Wagener Hockey Stadium in Amstelveen, Netherlands on the inaugural d...