The Indian men’s hockey team finish the 2020 year at fourth spot in the world rankings – their highest-ever ranking since the system was introduced in 2003. The Indian team played a lesser amount of matches this year as compared to the past few years as the hockey calendar was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March.
India’s astonishing start to their FIH Pro League campaign this year has helped them achieve the massive feat. The Men in Blue played six games before the COVID-forced break. The Manpreet Singh-led Indian team clinched the fourth spot in the first week of March this year and, with 2,063.78 points, have maintained that position ever since.
They made an emphatic start to the 2020 year by beating Olympic silver medallists the Netherlands 5-2 and 3-3 (3-1) and following that up with a 2-1 win over reigning world champions Belgium before losing 3-4 in the second leg of the tie. They then fell to a 3-4 loss to Australia, but then went on to beat them 2-2 (3-1) in the second leg.
India’s year-end rankings have been on an upward curve for the better part of the last decade. They finished 10th in 2011 and then fell to 11th in 2012. This is one of just two instances between 2011 and 2020 that India have dropped a ranking spot at the end of a year compared to the previous year.
They went back to 10th in 2013 before rising to ninth in 2014. Year 2015 ended with India finishing in sixth and they rose to fifth at the end of 2016. Then came the second drop of the decade as they failed to challenge for a medal at the Rio Olympics and dropped to sixth once again. India would then finish fifth in 2018 and 2019.
(With IANS Inputs)