In a great news for fans of Hockey in the nation, the Indian National Men’s Hockey Team has finished at the fourth spot in the world rankings, their highest ranking since the introduction of the system.
INDIA’S HOCKEY RANKINGS IN THE LAST TEN YEARS
India finished 10th in 2011 and then fell to 11th in 2012. Going back to 10th in 2013, they reached a step better in 2014. In 2015, India finished at the sixth position, and rose to fifth at the end of 2016. In 2017, they dropped one step to sixth, but rebounded to regain the fifth position in 2018, which they retained in 2019.
A STELLAR FIH PRO LEAGUE HELPED INDIA RISE
India’s stellar start in the FIH Pro League during the opening months of the year, before Covid-19 closed everything down, is the reason behind India’s rise in the rankings.
India has a conflicting history in the Pro League. In July 2017 when FIH first announced the tournament, Hockey India decided to withdraw both the men’s and women’s national teams from the competition as they estimated the chances of qualifying for the Summer Olympics to be higher when participating in the Men’s FIH Hockey World League. Hockey India also cited lack of clarity in the ranking system.
The International Hockey Federation subsequently invited the Spanish Men’s National Team and the Belgian Women’s National Team instead. Pakistan were suspended on 23 January 2019 after they could not play their first three games. India finally joined the Pro League from 2020 onwards.
For the 2020 edition, the home and away principle has been kept but this principle will now be split over two consecutive seasons. In 2020, Team A will host Team B twice within a couple of days and in 2021, Team B will host Team A twice within a couple of days. From 2022 onwards the bottom team at the end of the season will be relegated and will be replaced by the winner of a new competition called the Men’s FIH Nations Cup.
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