This tournament also marked a new low in South Asian hockey. Both India and Pakistan had a miserable tournament, finishing 12th and 11th, respectively. India, led by Mohammed Shahid, started disastrously, losing to Poland in their opening match. They had 10 penalty corners, but couldn't convert even one. Spain were the next to humiliate the one-time champions, winning 2-1. India managed to beat Canada 2-0, but were thrashed 0-6 by Australia. Then a 2-2 draw with Germany saw them end up fifth in the six-team preliminary league. India conceded 11 goals from five matches and scored just five.

Pakistan fared worse in the preliminary stage, scoring just one victory and losing four matches.

Still worse was to follow in the classification matches. New Zealand beat India 2-1 in the match for the ninth to twelfth places and then Pakistan won the match between the humiliated Asian giants for the 11th spot, leaving India with the wooden spoon.

England, Germany, Australia and the USSR completed the semi-final line-up. Australia, spearheaded by Richard Charlesworth, easily beat the USSR in the semi-finals and went on to beat England 3-2 in the final in front of a capacity crowd to register their first and only World Cup triumph. England had beaten Germany 3-2 to enter the final.

Charlesworth was the tournament's top scorer with seven goals.

Final Positions
1.	Australia
2.	England
3.	West Germany
4.	USSR
5.	Spain
6.	Argentina
7.	The Netherlands
8.	Poland
9.	New Zealand
10.	Canada
11.	Pakistan
12.	India

Indian Team:
Mohammed Shahid (captain), R S Rawat, Neel Kamal Singh, Pargat Singh, Mohinder Pal Singh, Vineet Kumar, M Somaya, Joaquim Carvalho, Abdul Aziz, Hardeep Singh, Tikken Singh, Marcellus Gomes, Jagbir Singh, Balwinder Singh, Thoiba Singh, Ram Prakash Singh
Coach: Ajitpal Singh
Manager: D S Murthy