Chandigarh: Senior Congress leader and Retd ADGP Gurinder Singh Dhillon IPS, while congratulating the Indian women’s hockey team on a historic campaign, said that India beat Germany 3-1 to finish fifth at the FIH World Cup, the best result in 52 years. Dhillon further said that the Indian women’s hockey team signed off the FIH Hockey World Cup Belgium & Netherlands 2026 in style, defeating world No. 5 Germany 3-1 in the fifth-place classification match at Wagener Stadium on Thursday.
The result gave India their best finish in fifth place at the tournament since they came fourth in the inaugural 1974 edition, a gap of 52 years. After a goalless first half, India exploded in the third quarter. Ishika broke the deadlock in the 43rd minute with a field goal. Navneet Kaur converted a penalty corner a minute later and added a second field goal in the 47th minute to make it 3-0. Lynn Krings pulled one back for Germany in the 59th minute, but India held firm. Navneet Kaur’s brace capped an impressive individual campaign.
The ninth-ranked Indian side, featuring 11 World Cup debutants and led by captain Salima Tete and coach Sjoerd Marijne, lost only once in the tournament, 0-2 to hosts and Olympic champions the Netherlands. They drew with higher-ranked China, England and Australia and thrashed South Africa 6-1. The 1974 team, captained by Ajinder Kaur, remains the only Indian women’s side to finish in the top four. This fifth-place finish is the next-best result in the competition’s history for India. Marijne called the campaign historic and said the result would give the young squad confidence heading into next month’s Asian Games. India finished the World Cup with two wins, three draws and one defeat from six matches.Proud moment for the nation. Well done, girls. Chak De India.