Mumbai, Aug 31 (IANS) Their best-ever finish in the FIH World Cup in 52 years has propelled the Indian women's hockey team to eighth place in the FIH World Rankings, moving the Tokyo Olympic Games semifinalists up one place in the list.

Though the Indian men's hockey team -- bronze medallist at the last two Olympics in Tokyo and Paris (2024) -- delivered another underwhelming performance, it managed to hold onto its pre-tournament eighth position in the Rankings.

The rankings were updated following the completion of the FIH World Cup, which saw Argentina women and Germany men win the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026, resulting in significant movement caused by the ups and downs of the World Cup matches.

Indian women move up

In the women’s rankings, despite registering their first World Cup loss since 2010, the Netherlands' huge lead coming into the tournament means they continue to hold the top spot with 4083 points.

Argentina’s triumph sees them close the gap on the Netherlands’ lead, as they further tighten their grip on second place with 3757 points. Belgium continue to hold third place with 3494 points, following their historic return to the World Cup podium after 48 years!

Despite falling short of their medal expectations, China remain the highest-ranked women's team from Asia, finishing fourth with 3182 points. Behind them are three European sides, with Spain (3089) in fifth, Germany (3063) in sixth and England (3044) in seventh, with just 45 points separating them..

India’s fifth-place finish was their best at the World Cup in 52 years, and it sees them climb a spot to eighth place with 2938 points, leapfrogging Australia, who are ninth with 2812 points, the FIH said in a release on Monday.

Rounding out the top-10 are the United States (2612), who finished 10th at the World Cup, including some impressive performances, such as holding the eventual champions Argentina to a draw in their opening match.

Japan (2476), New Zealand (2446), Ireland (2426) and Scotland (2415) follow, ranked eleventh to fourteenth, separated by a total of 61 world ranking points! Chile come in fifteenth with 2104 points, followed by France (2094) and Korea (2066) — two teams that did not qualify for the World Cup. South Africa, in eighteenth place with 2050 points, are the final of the World Cup participants, followed by Italy (1995) and Uruguay (1976), rounding out the top-20.

Germany on top in men's rankings

In the men’s rankings, Germany sit at the top spot with 3720 points following their second successive World Cup triumph. The Netherlands secured the top spot following their victory in the final, having started the match day in second position. Germany’s triumph moved Belgium (3692) down into second place after their campaign ended in a seventh-place finish at the World Cup.

Australia (3583) find themselves in third place, with their victory over England in the 5th-place classification match lifting them three spots and highlighting how competitive the fight for the top world rankings remains. Argentina’s (3512) win over the Netherlands in the bronze medal match lifted them to fourth place in the world ranking table, ahead of the Dutch, who are now fifth with 3481 points..

Spain, who fell just short of winning their first-ever men’s Hockey World Cup title, are in sixth place with 3473 points, followed by England in seventh with 3431 points. From Germany in first to England in seventh, the teams are separated by just 289 points!

India (3072) remain the highest-ranked Asian team in the men’s rankings, and are in eighth place, where they started the competition, which also coincides with their classification at the World Cup. New Zealand, who finished ninth in the World Cup, follow India in the world rankings with 2965 points, placing them ninth in the world. France round out the top-10 with 2841 points.

Ireland stand at the cusp of the top-10, currently in eleventh place with 2645 points, while Pakistan (2561) is in twelfth. South Africa’s rousing performances at the World Cup mean they remain the highest-ranked African side in the world, in thirteenth place with 2531 points..

Scotland (2371) are the highest-ranked side in the world to have missed out on the World Cup, ranked fourteenth in the world, followed by Malaysia (2346) and Egypt (2308). Rounding out the top 20 are Japan (2300) in seventeenth, Wales (2299) in eighteenth, Canada (2200) in nineteenth and China (2131) in twentieth.

--IANS

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