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Indian women's hockey team skipper Savita Punia expressed delight after India achieved their best-ever world ranking of No. 6 in the FIH World Hockey Rankings on Tuesday.
The team have leapfrogged above Spain in the world rankings with 2029.396 points. Punia noted that she was proud of the team's achievement in a media statement, saying:
"This is the outcome of all the hard work our team has done over the past few months. We have worked together as a team against strong competition and achieved good results, and we are proud that we are growing and learning together as a unit."
Read: Commonwealth Games 2022 hockey teams touted to have good mix of young and experienced players
The Indian captain said preparations for tougher challenges against Belgium and the Netherlands are done and that they are confident going into the next leg of the FIH Pro League.
In their next few FIH Pro League matches, India will play Belgium on June 11 and 12, will meet Argentina on June 18 and 19 and square off against the United States on June 21 and 22.
"We hope to continue our growth as we prepare for tougher challenges in away games against Belgium and The Netherlands. We are confident we will be able to get good results as well and continue to improve," Savita Punia added.
In the FIH Pro League, the Indian women's team are currently in third position with 22 points from eight matches.
Also read: Technical officer Sonia Bathla looking forward to 2022 Commonwealth Games
Savita Punia-led Indian team out to embrace more challenges
The Indian women's hockey team chief coach Janneke Schopman said the aim is to improve and grow as a consistent contender in world hockey.
"As a team, we aim to improve and grow and become a consistent contender in Women’s Hockey. The rise in the FIH World Rankings is a nice indicator that we are on the right path," the coach said.
The teams will be playing in the FIH Pro League and the Women's World Cup is coming up as well. Consequently, the world rankings will not be consistent and the coach added that the team's focus is on their performance alone. She concluded:
"At the same time with the FIH Women's Hockey Pro League going on and the FIH Women's World Cup coming up, things can change quickly and therefore we have to keep focusing on our own performance."
Having achieved their best-ever world ranking, the team will aim to continue climbing up the ladder.
Also read: Savita Punia sheds light on team's preparations ahead of 2021/22 FIH Pro League away matches
