Lausanne, Dec 19 (IANS): The Indian men's hockey team will end the riveting year in fifth place in the FIH world rankings, while the women's team is placed ninth in the latest update released by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Thursday. The Indian men's hockey team made history at the 2024 Paris Olympics by winning back-to-back medals at the Games for the first time since the 1972 Olympics in Munich.
Olympic champions the Netherlands (3267 points) stand at the top of the rankings. The Netherlands started the year in the top spot following a great run in the FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup, and gold medals at the FIH Hockey Pro League and the EuroHockey Championship in 2023.
A fast start to the 2024-25 season of the FIH Hockey Pro League has propelled England (3139) into second place in the world with Belgium (3124) following closely behind in third, having made a good start to the new Pro League season themselves.
Reigning World Champion Germany (3066) had climbed up to second place following their silver medal at Paris 2024, but a rough start to the Pro League saw them dropping two places, down to fourth in the world.
Eight-time Olympic gold medallist India (2955) and the 2004 winners Australia (2814) are placed fifth and sixth in the world, with both teams set to start their Pro League seasons at home in February 2025 -- the Kookaburras playing in Sydney from February 4, while the Men in Blue will start their campaign on February 15 in Bhubaneswar.
Argentina (2722), Spain (2570), France (2116) and Ireland (2112) round out the top-10 to end 2024, with South Africa (2082), New Zealand (2058), Malaysia (1970), Korea (1945) and Pakistan (1942) giving chase as teams ranked from 11 to 15.
In the women’s world rankings, the Netherlands (3689) had another perfect year winning the gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, along with the EuroHockey Championships gold and another FIH Hockey Pro League title.
Argentina (3203) continue to remain in a distant second place, following their bronze medal performance at Paris 2024. They did manage to close the gap between themselves and the Netherlands earlier this month, after getting their first win in nearly three years, over the Dutch side in the FIH Hockey Pro League 2024-25.
Belgium (2918), Germany (2846), and Australia (2820) started the year as the third, fourth, and fifth-ranked teams in the world, respectively, and continue to hold the same positions as they head into 2025.
However, following them closely behind and rapidly closing the gap are Alyson Annan’s China (2685), who have gone from strength to strength in 2024, with a historic silver medal performance at the Olympics.
England (2471) are stepping into a new era following a slew of retirements in the aftermath of Paris 2024, and while they hold on to the seventh spot in the world rankings, three losses in four matches to start the new season of the Pro League mean, the chasing pack have now closed in on the English.
Spain (on eighth, 2422), India (ninth, 2350) and New Zealand (10th, 2124) round out the top-10 positions heading into 2025.
Both Spain and India will aim to climb up the rankings ladder early in 2025 when they start their FIH Hockey Pro League 2024-25 campaigns in February, in Sydney and Bhubaneswar, respectively.
The chasing pack behind the top-10 includes Japan (2063) in eleventh, Ireland (2028) in twelfth, United States (1998) in thirteenth, Chile (1962) in fourteenth, and Korea (1869) in fifteenth.