Indian players acknowledge fans at the FIH Women’s Olympic Qualifiers Ranchi 2024 in Ranchi, Tuesday on Jan. 16, 2024.
Credit: PTI File Photo
New Delhi: India on Tuesday slipped a spot to the fourth position in the latest FIH men's world rankings with Germany taking the third place following their impressive run at the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers.
India (2761) had directly qualified for the Paris Olympics through an Asian Games gold last year and didn’t need to play in the recently-concluded Olympic Qualifiers.
Germany (2786), on the other hand, went unbeaten at the Olympic Qualifiers in Oman and followed that up with two wins and two draws against Argentina and a young Belgian side during the Santiago del Estero mini tournament in the FIH Pro League to surpass India.
Netherlands (3060) continue to sit at the top of the rankings, coming away from the India leg of the FIH Pro League, relatively unscathed, with two draws against India and a loss to Australia accounting for their only dropped points in 8 matches.
Belgium (2848) continue to hold on to the second place in the rankings after a strong showing at the Olympic Qualifiers in Valencia, Spain.
Australia (2757), who were the stand out performers during the FIH Pro League mini-tournament in India, leapfrogged England (2720) into fifth place. Argentina (2524) and Spain (2296) continue to hold on to the seventh and eighth positions respectively.
France (2085) was ninth, while New Zealand (2025) made their way back into the top-10 following a spirited showing at the Olympic Qualifiers in Oman, where they pipped Pakistan in the bronze medal match to qualify for the upcoming Olympic Games.
In the Women’s Rankings, India (2215), who failed to make the cut for the Paris Games, are ranked ninth in the list headed by Netherlands (3422), who remained clear of the chasing pack, having won all 12 of their Pro League season 5 matches thus far.
Argentina (2827) and Germany (2732) moved ahead of Australia into second and third places following strong performances during the Santiago del Estero mini-tournament.
Australia (2678) in fourth are followed by Belgium (2499) who dropped a place on the back of four straight losses in the FIH Pro League.
England (2304) remained sixth, followed by Spain (2244) on seventh, who have closed the gap to England thanks to a strong showing at the Olympic Qualifiers in Valencia, where they finished second to qualify for Paris.
China (2226)'s performances during the Indian mini-tournament of the FIH Pro League in February, saw them sit second in the Pro League table, catapulting them ahead of India (2215) in the world rankings, into the eighth position.
Less than 100 points separate England on sixth and India on ninth, showing the closely contested nature of international women’s hockey.