Indian men's hockey team drop out of world's top five in FIH Rankings

The Indian men's hockey team dropped to world number six in the latest FIH Rankings after getting whitewashed by Australia in the five-match Test series.

India lost five consecutive matches against Australia conceding 17 goals and scoring only seven. The loss in the last match cost India the ranking points pushing them out of the world's top five.

Starting the year at world number three, the Indian team slipped to world number four after a mixed performance at the FIH Pro League against the likes of Spain, Ireland, Australia, and the Netherlands in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.

The losses against Australia in the FIH Pro League and then in the Test series in Australia resulted in losing the ranking points.

Ahead of the Test series, Australia were ranked below the Indian team in the FIH Pro League. But the 5-0 clean sweep helped Australia rise to the third place.

India will have a chance to improve their rankings when they take the field in the European leg of the FIH Pro League in May.

In women's rankings, the Indian women's hockey team are placed at nine.

The Indian women's team fell from world number six to eight after the end of FIH Olympic qualifiers in Ranchi where they failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics.

Post the Olympics qualifiers, the Indian team performed poorly in the home leg of the FIH Pro League and went down to nine in the rankings.

With Harendra Singh being appointed as the new coach of the team, they have a chance to improve their rankings in the next leg of the FIH Pro League starting next month.