NEW DELHI: The Indian women's hockey team has achieved its best-ever world ranking by claiming the sixth position, following an outstanding performance in the recently concluded Asian Champions Trophy and the Hangzhou Asian Games. This remarkable achievement comes as a result of the team's bronze medal win at the Asian Games and their title triumph at the Asian Champions Trophy in Ranchi, where they remained unbeaten.
Prior to these competitions, the Indian women were ranked eighth in the world. The impressive results in these events have propelled them to their best-ever world ranking, which was last achieved during the FIH Pro League in June of the previous year.
India now holds the sixth position with 2368.83 rating points, surpassing England in the rankings.
The Netherlands maintains its top spot as the world's best women's hockey team with 3422.40 points, followed by Australia in second place with 2817.73 points and Argentina in third with 2766.90 points. Above India in the rankings are Belgium in fourth place with 2608.77 points and Germany in fifth place with 2573.72 points.
This significant jump in the world rankings serves as a major boost for the Indian women's hockey team as they prepare for the forthcoming FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers scheduled to take place from January 13 to 19 in Ranchi. In this crucial event, India will compete against Germany, New Zealand, Japan, Chile, the United States, Italy, and Czech Republic with the aim of securing a berth in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
(With inputs from PTI)
