FIH World Ranking: Indian Women Hockey Team climbs to 6th position, India's highest ranking ever

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• May 31, 2022 | Dhupali Das

The Indian Women's Hockey Team is presently ranked above Spain in the World Rankings with 2029.396 points.

Digital Desk: The Indian Women's Hockey team has advanced to the sixth position in the FIH World Hockey Rankings, their highest ranking ever. The Indian Women's Hockey Team is presently ranked above Spain in the World Rankings with 2029.396 points.

After losing both of their FIH Hockey Pro League 2021/22 matches to Argentina, Spain slipped one spot. This month, they have also lost one match each against Belgium and England.

The Indian women's hockey team is now in sixth place with 2029.396 points, behind the Netherlands (3049.495), Argentina (2674.837), Australia (2440.750), England (2204.590), and Germany (2201.085). With a grade of 2016.149, Spain is ranked sixth.

With 22 points from eight games, the Indian women's hockey team is presently in third place in the FIH Hockey Pro League 2021/22. On June 11 and 12, India will play Belgium in a two-game road series. 

Speaking about the success of Janneke Schopman, the chief coach of the Indian women's hockey team, said, "We want to progress and evolve as a team to be a consistent contender in women's hockey. The improvement in the FIH World Rankings is a good sign that we're on the right track."

"At the same time, with the FIH Women's Hockey Pro League and the FIH Women's World Cup approaching, things may change rapidly, so we have to be focused on our own performance," Schopman said in a statement released by Hockey India on Tuesday.

Savita, the Indian women's squad captain, was equally ecstatic about the achievement. "This is the result of our team's tireless efforts over the last few months. We have achieved fantastic results by working together as a team against stiff competition, and we are glad that we are growing and learning as a unit," she said. 

 "As we prepare for bigger challenges in away games against Belgium and the Netherlands, we want to continue our progress. We are optimistic that we will achieve positive results and continue to improve," Savita added.

But, Indian hockey suffered a major setback as the men's team dropped to fourth place after the Netherlands overtook them due to some good setbacks this month.

The Netherlands (2465.707) swapped places with India to reclaim third place (2366.990). Germany (2308.156) is in fifth place, but owing to recent wins in the Pro League against France and South Africa, England (2171.354) has moved up to the sixth place, ahead of Argentina (2147.179).

With 2842.258 points, Australia maintained its lead in the men's rankings, with World and Olympic champions Belgium close behind with 2764.735 points.