The Indian women's hockey team defeated Germany 3-1 in the classification match to finish fifth at the FIH Women's World Cup in Amstelveen, Netherlands, on Thursday.
The victory secured India's second-best finish in World Cup history. India's best performance remains fourth place at the inaugural World Cup in 1974. After a goalless first half, India took control in the third quarter.
Editorial Insight
Key Highlights
Important points readers should notice.
India finished the tournament strongly despite missing the semi-finals.
Navneet Kaur's brace proved decisive in the fifth-place match.
The result gives Indian women's hockey its second-best World Cup finish.
Ishika opened the scoring for India with a field goal before Navneet Kaur doubled the lead by converting a penalty corner. Navneet struck again from open play to give India a three-goal advantage.
Germany managed to pull one goal back through Lynn Krings, but India held on to complete a 3-1 victory.
India had missed out on a place in the semi-finals after playing out a goalless draw against Australia. The fifth-place finish nevertheless gives India its best World Cup result since its fourth-place finish in 1974.
Editorial Analysis
Why This Matters
The fifth-place finish is significant because it places the current Indian team among the country's best-performing women's hockey sides at the World Cup.
