Indian men’s hockey team completed the double over Olympic champions Argentina as they defeated the hosts 3-0 in the second FIH Hockey Pro League fixture. The Manpreet Singh led side also won the first match in a penalty shootout.
Just when chief coach Graham Reid and his boys started celebrating as India climbed to the fourth position with these two consecutive wins. However, it was a dampener for the Men in Blue as they dropped to the fifth position despite winning both their matches. India first achieved the fourth position way back in January this year and though they accumulated more points (2064.10) than earlier (2223.458) it was still not enough to keep them at the fourth position.
World and European Champion, Belgium (2602.31 points) continue to sit at the top of the rankings with their consistent performances followed by 2019 FIH Hockey Pro League champions, Australia (2489.53 points). It is due to Germany’s great run in the FIH Hockey Pro League where they defeated Argentina and the Netherlands away from home giving them a massive boost to their rankings as they have climbed up from sixth to third. They currently hold 2253.48 points and are in a great position for the time being.
The Netherlands have replaced India in fourth as they have 2232.55 points which is slightly more than the Men in Blue’s tally. Followed by Graham Reid’s men in the rankings are the Olympic champions Argentina (1923.42) and England (1836.85) at sixth and seventh respectively. Teams such as New Zealand (1680.08), Spain (1653.86) and Canada (1517.36) complete the top ten and it gives a clear idea that how any team with a stretch of good results can simply go ahead in the rankings especially around the middle and lower-middle areas of the top ten.
In the Women’s rankings, India remained in their previous position, ninth. The Netherlands have a huge lead at the top of the pile ahead of Argentina who are distant second according to the ranking points. The Dutch have earned their strides with two victories over Germany at the FIH Hockey Pro League. However, Germany who are at third in the rankings have redeemed themselves after the losses by drawing and winning against Argentina which allowed them to stay in third position. Australia and England are fourth and fifth respectively followed by New Zealand in sixth. Spain, Ireland and China complete the top ten rankings in Women’s hockey.
