FIH Rankings: Australia men's team move into first place, India men's, women's sides remain in 4th, 10th

Lausanne: The Indian men’s and women’s hockey teams remained unchanged at fourth and 10th spot respectively in the FIH rankings released on Wednesday. Australia moved to the top of the men’s world rankings with 2513.67 points after a string of victories over New Zealand, both in the FIH Hockey Pro League and an FIH sanctioned test series. The Kookaburras dethroned Belgium (2449.67 points) from the top spot with the European side dropping to the second position after taking the bronze medal in the EuroHockey Championships in Amstelveen. The Netherlands’ European title victory in Amstelveen has seen them strengthen their hold on third place, moving onto 2355.13 points. India remain fourth (2223.45), with fifth-placed Germany (2163.57) having closed the gap on them thanks to a fine silver medal-winning performance at the Euros. The top ten is completed by England (6th 2007.49), Argentina (7th 1923.42), New Zealand (8th 1655.99), Spain (9th 1546.86) and Canada (10th 1509.19), who all retain their positions from the previous update at the beginning of June. There is no change at the top of the women’s world rankings, with the Netherlands extending their lead over second-ranked Argentina to almost 600 points. A successful defence of their European title has moved the Netherlands onto 2805.66 points, with Las Leonas having 2235.59. Germany’s silver medal at the Euros has seen them climb from fifth to third place with 2183.79 points, with Australia (2130.40) and England (2082.40) in fourth and fifth place respectively. New Zealand (1903.35) and Spain (1770.90) retain the sixth and seventh positions, while Belgium’s strong performance at the European Championships has seen them climb from 12th to eighth place with 1700.75 points. The women’s top ten is completed by ninth-placed Ireland (1681.88) and India (1643.00), who are in tenth position.