Hockey
Hockey Rankings: India return to world's top 3 after a year
The elevation happened due to their undefeated run in the Asian Champions Trophy 2023 in Chennai last month.
India's men's hockey team (Hockey India)
The Indian men's hockey team has climbed to the third spot in the latest world rankings issued by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Monday.
India (2771) are back into the top-3, after more than year since dropping out in May 2022. The elevation happened due to their undefeated run in the Asian Champions Trophy 2023 in Chennai last month.
The Indians have won six and drew one of their seven matches. England (2745), who fell just short of winning the EuroHockey title with a 1-2 loss to the Netherlands in the final, are out of top three.
Despite their strong run to the finals, an earlier loss in the tournament against Belgium and the loss in the final, coupled with India's run of wins, saw England slip to fourth.
Netherlands (3113) continue to lead the way with a strong defence of their title at the EuroHockey Championships, to add to their FIH Hockey Pro League title and the bronze medal at the FIH Hockey World Cup in 2023.
Netherlands' dominance has seen them pull off a comfortable lead over Belgium (2989) in second place.
Germany (2689) and Australia (2544) hold on to the fifth and sixth positions respectively, while Argentina (2350) climbed up one spot to seventh ahead of Spain (2347).
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In the women's rankings, Netherlands (3422) are perched at the top spot, remain well clear of the chasing pack, continuing their dominance with a record-extending 12th EuroHockey Championship title. Australia (2818) and Argentina (2767) stay put in the second and third places respectively.
However, Belgium (2609) had a great campaign at the EuroHockey Championships, winning the silver medal that propels them ahead of Germany (2574) as the two teams occupy the fourth and fifth spots in the world rankings.
Indian women (2325) have climbed one spot to the seventh position, at the expense of Spain (2173), who finished sixth in the EuroHockey Championships dropping over 150 world ranking points in losses against Belgium and Scotland.
New Zealand (2001) and Japan (1900) continue to hold their ninth and 10th spots, with China (1894) marginally behind Japan in the 11th spot.
(With PTI inputs)
