Mumbai, March 17 (IANS) A brilliant home run of three outright wins and one in the shoot-out in the FIH Pro League helped the Indian men’s team climb two spots to fourth place in the World Rankings.
In the updated list, which was released on Friday following the completion of matches in Rourkela, the Netherlands moved to the top spot with 2848.28 points as Australia dropped points after losing to India and Germany in Rourkela. Belgium are at the second spot with 2845.82 points while Germany (2752.12) are third with India following at fourth with 2689.07 points.
Netherlands (2848) climbed up one spot to the top of the world rankings on account of Germany dropping points to Australia and India in the Rourkela mini-tournament. Belgium (2846) are also a beneficiary of Germany’s loss climbing up one spot into second place.
Germany (2752) managed to get one win out of four in the Rourkela mini-tournament and slip down to third in the world rankings, just ahead of India (2689) who had a stellar home run of 3 wins and one shoot-out win to climb two spots into fourth. Australia (2576) have made a tough start to their Pro League campaign with 2 wins from their first 8 games which drops them down one spot into fifth, the FIH said in a release on Friday.
India’s charge up the rankings sees England (2536) lose ground as they slide down to sixth in the world rankings. Argentina (2269) and Spain (2251) played in the mini-tournament in Hobart alongside Australia with both teams maintaining their rankings in seventh and eighth place respectively. Spain’s three wins in the first three matches had seen them briefly climb up to the seventh spot, but a final match loss to Argentina saw the teams switch back. Korea (1942) and New Zealand (1899) round out the top ten, having not played an international match since the end of the World Cup.
In the FIH Women’s World Rankings, the Netherlands (3199) remain at the top of the table, continuing to maintain their huge lead over Argentina (2640) in second place. Australia (2546) have made a great start to their Pro League campaign with 3 wins, 4 draws (including 2 shoot-out wins) and 1 loss in their opening 8 matches and retain the third spot in the world rankings. Just over 100 points separate teams between the fourth and seventh position, with Germany (2260) climbing up one spot into fourth ahead of England (2217) in fifth, Belgium (2175) in sixth and Spain (2157) in seventh.
India (2086), New Zealand (1879) and China (1777) close out the top-10 positions, with India last featuring in the Nations Cup where they finished as champions, securing a place in the FIH Hockey Pro League for the 2023/24 season.
–IANS
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