Sports Bulletin Report
Lausanne (Switzerland): The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has updated the world hockey ranking and the Netherlands is number 1 while Great Britain spotted second place. Pakistan is still crawling in the 16th position in the men’s ranking.
In the women’s world rankings, Netherlands (3534) continue to be the dominant force at the top of the rankings. A second consecutive Pro League title, their fourth in the five seasons of the event, came after yet another excellent season where they won 15 out of their 16 games!
Such is Netherlands’ dominance, that their 571-point lead over second placed Argentina (2963) is nearly as big as the 583-points that cover Argentina in second all the way down to China in eighth place on the world ranking table. Germany (2834), who achieved their best ever finish in the FIH Hockey Pro League as runners-up, are ranked third in the world, and look among the strongest contenders for a podium place finish in Paris 2024. Belgium (2771) in fourth and Australia (2743) in fifth are two more teams that had impressive ends to their Pro League seasons as they make a strong case for medal contention at the Olympics. England (2443) in sixth, Spain (2409) in seventh and China (2380) in eighth are separated by less than 65 points. Each of the three teams have shown they are capable of playing excellent hockey and it would not be a surprise to see them punch above their weight at Paris 2024.
In the men’s world rankings, Netherlands (3069) continue to remain in the top spot, which they have held for nearly a year now. While Netherlands fell short of retaining their FIH Pro League title, their season was still littered with impressive wins as they finished second in the table. England (2986) have closed the gap to Netherlands in the world rankings but stay second in the standings following a title fight in the Pro League, before eventually settling for a third place.
Belgium (2939) had an up and down season in the Pro League, but a final day win over Netherlands sees them climb into third place in the world rankings, ahead of FIH Hockey Pro League 2023/24 winners Australia (2921), who find themselves in the fourth spot.
Less than hundred points cover teams between fifth and seventh places. World Cup winners Germany (2765) find themselves in fifth, followed by Argentina (2690), who had a much improved season in the FIH Hockey Pro League as they finished fourth, four places better than their previous campaign where they came close to getting embroiled in a relegation battle. A poor European leg of the Pro League saw India (2688) drop a lot of points in the Pro League as well as the world rankings, where they now find themselves in seventh, just two points behind Argentina.
Spain (2365), eighth in the world rankings, lead a quartet of teams all headed to the Olympics. Hosts France (2241) find themselves in ninth, following an impressive showing at the FIH Hockey Nations Cup, where they finished as runners up. New Zealand (2219) were the winners of the Nations Cup, qualifying for the upcoming season of the FIH Hockey Pro League and round out the top-10 in the world rankings. Ireland (2043) found it tough going in their first Pro League season, but two late season wins against Belgium showcased the improvement in the side headed into the Olympics, as the eleventh ranked team in the world.
