India jump two places in hockey World Rankings

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has released the latest FIH Hero World Rankings following the conclusion of the hugely entertaining 2016 Hockey Champions Trophies in London. World Cup holders and Hero Champions Trophy 2016 winners Australia remain at the top of the men’s rankings, while Olympic and World champions the Netherlands hold on to top spot in the women’s rankings.

There is no change in the men’s top three nations, with Netherlands ranked second and Germany third. While England (and Great Britain) remain fourth, India have leapfrogged Belgium (6) and Argentina (7) into fifth place thanks to their outstanding silver medal winning performance at the Hero Hockey Champions Trophy 2016 earlier this month.

In the women’s rankings, Argentina’s stunning title success at the Hockey Champions Trophy keeps them in second place but has seen them narrow the gap with the top-ranked Dutch. Australia and New Zealand remain in third and fourth place respectively, but fifth place is now held by USA, who have moved up from seventh courtesy of the brilliant bronze medal that they won at the Champions Trophyon Sunday. Meanwhile, the Indian women's team remained at 13th, after some disappointing results in the last two months.

The rankings were confirmed following the conclusion of the Women’s Hockey Champions Trophy in London on Sunday. The next update to the FIH World Rankings will be published following the completion of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, which will take place in August.

The update to the FIH Hero World Rankings will have no impact on the pools for the Olympic Games, which were set based on the rankings as at 1 January 2016.

*Report courtesy FIH

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