FIH Hockey 5s rankings: Indian men and women occupy second place
Indian men’s and women’s teams are both placed second in the maiden Hockey 5s rankings issued recently by the world body (FIH).
The Indian men’s team occupies the second spot jointly with Oman and Malaysia, following a three-way tie with 1400 points each. Having won the Asian Championship, India finished fifth at the World Cup at Muscat from January 28-31.
Oman, on the other hand, had won a bronze medal in front of their home crowd in their first-ever World Cup appearance. World Cup runners-up Malaysia has improved massively since their fourth-place finish at the Asian Championships.
The Netherlands (1750 points) led the pack after winning the inaugural World Cup following their victory at the European Championships.
Poland (1350) and Egypt (1350) are tied for fifth place in the world rankings. Poland narrowly missed out on the bronze medal in the World Cup, while Egypt finished in sixth place.
Following closely behind are Trinidad & Tobago (1200) and Kenya (1200), tied for seventh in the world rankings.
Pakistan (1150) found themselves in ninth place, after winning the Challenger Trophy at the World Cup, and Australia (1100) closed out the top-10.
The Netherlands once again occupy the pole position in the women’s rankings with their gold medal at the World Cup as well as the European Championships, which secured them 1750 points.
India (1550), who won the silver medal at the World Cup after winning the Asian Championship, are ranked second.
Uruguay (1350) and South Africa (1350) are tied for fourth place after their impressive show at the World Cup. Malaysia (1250) is ranked sixth following a sixth-place finish in the World Cup.
They are followed closely by Ukraine, New Zealand and the United States who are all tied for seventh place with 1200 points each.
Namibia (1150) complete the top-10 in the women’s Hockey5s world rankings.
According to a FIH statement, all continental championships have been awarded the same weighting, to encourage nations from all continents to compete and earn Hockey5s World Ranking points.