Tuesday 07 / May / 2024
Muscat: Oman has soared to remarkable heights in the world of hockey, securing second-place in the inaugural FIH Hockey5s world rankings.
This achievement not only signifies a milestone for Oman but also underscores its emergence as a formidable contender in this format on the global stage.
The unveiling of the FIH Hockey5s world rankings by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) follows the conclusion of the FIH Hockey5s World Cup, hosted earlier this year at the Oman hockey arena in Al Amerat.
Assessing team performances across championships and the Hockey5s World Cup, these rankings reflect the intense competition and exemplary skill exhibited by the participating nations.
In the men’s Hockey5s World Rankings, the Netherlands claimed the top spot, winning the inaugural World Cup in Muscat following its victory at the European Championships, which accrued 1,750 points to them.
Oman shared the second spot with Malaysia and India, a testament to its outstanding performance under the guidance of Dutch coach Siegfried Aikman.
Oman’s display at the Hockey5s World Cup earned it 1,400 points, marking its debut on the global hockey stage with a bronze medal finish.
Malaysia (1,400 points) who finished as silver medalists, improved massively since its 4th place finish at the Asian Championships, and India (1,400 points) who finished fifth at the World Cup after having won the Asian Championship, joined Oman at second place.
In his exclusive remarks to Times of Oman, Aikman said: “We are very proud that Oman made it to the top-two of the world rankings. It underlines the team’s potential and we need to continue with the work hard to remain in that position. I feel many countries will be inspired by our performances and will try to achieve the same.
“Personally, I’m very proud of our bronze medal at the Hockey5s World Cup because the inaugural event brought together teams from all continents and included some heavyweights from Europe. With the new Oman Hockey Arena at Al Amerat, a state-of-the-art venue, we hope to host many top European teams in their winter season and learn a lot from them to improve and hopefully keep our ranking.”
Aikman added: “I’m thankful to the support of the government of Oman, and the OHA board to make this historic event possible in the Sultanate of Oman. We hope to inspire other national teams in Oman to keep their dreams alive. My players and staff had a dream to perform at the world level and worked hard to achieve it. It was a journey with ups and downs and I am delighted that our efforts reaped rewards.”
Shakir Munir, technical consultant at the Oman Hockey Association (OHA), expressed immense pride in Oman’s achievement, emphasising its significance in propelling the promotion of hockey5s within the Sultanate.
He said: “This is wonderful news, a feat that the whole of Oman can be proud of. It lays the foundation of developing and promoting the hockey5s format in the Sultanate. The boys worked very hard under coach Siegfried Aikman to clinch a bronze medal at the World Cup.
“To be ranked World No.2 is a huge accomplishment and at OHA, under the chairmanship of Dr Marwan Al Juma, we are committed to strengthening the game and earning more laurels at the Asian and international level.”
He added: “The future of hockey5s in Oman is encouraging and we will take every step to ensure that our team remains among the top-playing nations in the world.”
Poland (1,350 points) and Egypt (1,350 points) are tied for fifth place in the men’s world rankings. Poland narrowly missed out on the bronze medal in the World Cup, while Egypt finished in sixth place. Following closely behind are Trinidad & Tobago (1,200 points) and Kenya (1,200 points) tied for seventh in the world rankings.
Pakistan (1150 points) find themselves at ninth place, after winning the Challenger Trophy at the World Cup and Australia (1100 poinst) close out the top-10 among the 44 nations.
Oman women, who also made their debut at the inaugural Hockey5s World Cup were ranked 22nd among 42 nations
Netherlands women took the first place, with a gold medal at the World Cup as well as the European Championships, giving them1,750 points. India (1,550 points) who won the silver medal at the World Cup after winning the Asian Championship, is ranked second in the world, with World Cup bronze medallists Poland (1,450 points) in third place.
Uruguay (1,350 points) and South Africa (1,350 points) are tied for fourth place in the world rankings after both teams showcased stunning attacking hockey at the World Cup.
Malaysia (1250 points) is ranked sixth in the world, following a sixth place finish in the World Cup, followed closely behind by Ukraine (1, 200 points), New Zealand (1, 200 points) and United States (1,200 points), who are all tied for seventh place. Namibia (1,150 points) closed out the top-10 in the women’s hockey5s world rankings.
Following the release of the first ever world rankings, FIH President Tayyab Ikram said, “The first ever FIH Hockey5s World Cup in Oman this year gave us clear evidence that the global hockey community has thoroughly embraced the hockey5s format. With less infrastructure and financial resource requirements, hockey5s is a format that is already making hockey popular in new regions all around the world.
“As we launch the first ever Hockey5s World Rankings, the mixture of teams from the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania among the top-10 of both men’s and women’s rankings is a welcome sight and paves the way for an extremely competitive future for the format and gives us a further opportunity to develop hockey in all regions.”
