The Indian women’s hockey team will contest the fifth-sixth position classification match against Germany at the FIH Hockey World Cup Belgium and Netherlands 2026 on Thursday, seeking to achieve their best-ever finish since the inaugural tournament in 1974.
The team also recorded their most dominant World Cup victory with a 6-1 win over South Africa.
Marijne added, “The girls have already made history by securing the best ranking in a World Cup (since 1974), but we want more.
It’s going to be a good match against Germany to show that we can do better than we did against Australia.
We are looking forward to it.”ADVERTISEMENTSecuring their best finish in over five decades would establish a new benchmark for Indian women’s hockey to build upon following this memorable World Cup campaign.
The Indian women’s hockey team will contest the fifth-sixth position classification match against Germany at the FIH Hockey World Cup Belgium and Netherlands 2026 on Thursday, seeking to achieve their best-ever finish since the inaugural tournament in 1974.
India have demonstrated considerable resilience throughout the competition, suffering only one defeat in five matches. They secured draws against higher-ranked opponents including Paris Olympics silver medallists China, England and Australia. The team also recorded their most dominant World Cup victory with a 6-1 win over South Africa. Their sole loss came against defending champions the Netherlands in a closely contested 2-0 result. India finished third in the second stage, narrowly missing a semi-final berth after a series of draws.
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Germany have also performed competitively, defeating Scotland and the USA in the initial pool stage. They progressed by overcoming Spain in the second stage but were defeated by Belgium, which placed them third and set up the contest for fifth and sixth place.
India’s chief coach Sjoerd Marijne said, “We defeated South Africa with big numbers, did really well against the Netherlands…The girls also realise that they have taken good steps. But they are naturally disappointed, and I think that’s a good thing. That means they feel we can do more.”
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The team will aim to convert their strong performances into a positive outcome. While creating multiple attacking opportunities against leading teams, India has found scoring challenging. Forwards will play a vital role against Germany by capitalising on chances or earning penalty corners to enable players such as Deepika and Navneet Kaur to score from set-pieces.
Defensively, India have remained robust, with goalkeepers Savita and Bichu Devi Kharibam performing admirably. Captain Salima Tete has provided additional protection through effective rushing blocks during penalty corner defence, enabling the defensive unit to maintain a solid structure throughout the tournament.
Marijne added, “The girls have already made history by securing the best ranking in a World Cup (since 1974), but we want more. It’s going to be a good match against Germany to show that we can do better than we did against Australia. We are looking forward to it.”
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Securing their best finish in over five decades would establish a new benchmark for Indian women’s hockey to build upon following this memorable World Cup campaign.
