World Rankings: India drop one spot to 9th, Argentina move up to 7th

The Indian men’s hockey team dropped one spot to 9^th in the latest FIH world rankings announced on Wednesday. It may be recalled that the national team had moved up from 11^th spot to 8^th spot after the disastrous London Olympics campaign. World champions Australia are still perched on the top, followed by the Netherlands who advanced one spot to 2^nd position.

Significantly, Australia has managed to be in the top-3 for the 11^th consecutive year. Germany, who failed to make the World Cup semifinals for the first time since the inaugural 1971 World Cup, slipped one place to 3rd position.^. Belgium, who were nosed out by England out of semifinal reckoning, however, moved up one spot to 4^th, while England fell one spot to 5^th position.

Argentina, who reached their maiden World Cup semifinal in Hague, jumped four spots to be placed 7^th. New Zealand retained their number six position, while Korea fell one notch to 8th. Pakistan, who failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first-time ever, dropped two places to be ranked 11^th, while Spain retained their number ten position.

Netherlands women retained their number one spot. Australia advanced two spots to number two, while Argentina fell to 3^rd position. England, who finished a disappointing 11^th in the recent World Cup, slipped three places to be ranked 6^th. New Zealand advanced one spot to be placed 4^th while China climbed two spots to be ranked 5^th.  USA jumped two places to be ranked 8^th following their superb semifinal appearance in the 2014 World Cup, while Germany and Korea fell one spot to be placed 7^th and 9^th respectively. Japan also fell one spot to be ranked 10^th.

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