Five best international hockey teams

Hockey is quite a competitive sport, as is obvious. Where football (soccer to some) involves just running with your feet, hockey involves the added intrigue of a tiny ball pushed around by a long stick the players are perpetually bent over. The game is a major Olympic event, causing adrenaline rushes through the bloodstreams of its great number of fans. Hockey is the national sport of major countries like Canada, India and Pakistan. Here is a summarized look at the 5 best hockey teams in the world.

5. India

Nicknamed ‘Men in Blue’ or ‘Bharat Army’, the Indian field hockey team was the first ever non-European member of the International Hockey Federation. From 1928 to 1960, the team remained unbeaten in Olympic hockey, winning six consecutive gold medals. During this monumental time, the team enjoyed a 30-0 winning streak, until the thread was broken with an unfortunate defeat in the 1960 finals. India has also won the 1975 World Cup at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The team is the most successful team in the Olympics to date, the itinerary including eight gold, one silver and two bronze medals.

4. Netherlands

Netherlands is one of the most successful teams in Hockey history. The list of their achievement is quite a feast for the eyes, with them winning the Summer Olympics twice, the Hockey World Cup three times, the Champions Trophy eight times, the EuroHockey Nations Championship three times and the Hockey World League once. The team is assuredly at a low point in its history, but the laundry list of past honours mentioned above shows that the Netherlands deserves a place in this list of the best 5 field hockey teams in the world.

3. Belgium

Belgium (nicknamed the ‘Red Lions’) is currently holding its hottest position on the international score chart. They are noteworthy in that they have made it to six semi-finals at the EuroHockey National Championship, in which they bagged the third position in 2007 and were the runners-up in 2013 and 2017. They won the bronze medal at the 1920 Summer Olympics, silver at the 2014-15 Hockey World League, gold at the 2011 Champions Challenge, and most recently silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, losing against Argentina for 4-2.

2. Argentina

As their logo very proudly shows, the Argentina men’s hockey teams are nicknamed Los Leones, or ‘The Lions’. Argentina is the only team that succeeded in securing a gold medal for the Americas at the Olympic Games, where, in the Summer Olympics 2016 at Rio de Janeiro, they defeated Belgium with a sliding 4-2 win. Argentina hockey team are prominent in the fact that they have appeared in every Hockey World Cup since 1973, though their best position has unfortunately been 3rd, for a bronze medal in 2014 World cup at The Hague. Continentally, Argentina is the most successful team in the Americans, winning most tournaments they play in. These include nine gold medals in the Pan American Games and three in Pan American Cup.

1. Australia

With 3 World Cups under its belt—those of 1986, 2010 and 2014—the Australian men’s hockey team (nicknamed the Kookaburras), is surely the apple of any hockey fan’s eyes. They are proudly holding the top spot in the FIH World Ranking, and is the only team that holds the record of 5 consecutive wins in the Champions Trophy, from 2008 to 2012. The class of the Australian national team can be noted from the fact that the lowest ranking they have been put to, is only number 3. No other team in the world holds such stellar records.