India produced a superb second-half performance to defeat world No. 5 Germany 3-1 in the fifth-place classification match and sign off from the FIH Hockey World Cup Belgium and Netherlands 2026 on a high here on Thursday.
The fifth-place finish is India’s best at a Women’s World Cup since the inaugural edition in 1974, when the team finished fourth.
After a goalless first half, India came alive in the third quarter, scoring twice through Ishika and Navneet Kaur before Navneet added her second early in the final quarter.
Germany enjoyed greater possession in the opening stages but struggled to create clear opportunities. India gradually settled into the contest, with Baljeet Kaur and Sakshi Rana combining down the right flank in the fifth minute before their move was thwarted by the German defence.
Germany earned their first penalty corner in the 15th minute following a video referral, but goalkeeper Bichu Devi and the Indian defence dealt with the danger.
India created their best chance of the second quarter when Deepika found Navneet, who set up Lalremsiami, but the latter’s effort went wide. Germany continued to threaten from penalty corners, but India held firm.
The Indian attack finished the half strongly, with Navneet and captain Salima Tete testing German goalkeeper Finja Starck, who made three successive saves to keep the scores level at the break.
India finally broke the deadlock in the 43rd minute. Neha won possession and released Ishika, who chose to take on the German defence before finishing calmly to put India ahead.
Just a minute later, India doubled their lead. A sustained attacking move earned them a penalty corner and, after Navneet’s first attempt was blocked by a German runner, India earned another PC. Navneet made no mistake the second time, firing a powerful strike into the net.
India stretched their lead to 3-0 in the 47th minute. Salima found Navneet along the baseline and the forward brilliantly worked her way past two defenders before lifting the ball into the net.
Germany tried to fight back and Lynn Krings came close in the 50th minute before eventually pulling one back in the 59th.
India, however, remained composed and defended resolutely in the closing stages. Germany earned one final penalty corner with 12 seconds left, but the Indian defence held firm to seal the 3-1 win.
India finished the tournament with two wins, three draws and one defeat from six matches. Their only loss came against defending champions Netherlands, while they held higher-ranked China, England and Australia to draws.
They also recorded their biggest win of the tournament with a 6-1 victory over South Africa.
While India narrowly missed out on a semi-final berth, the fifth-place finish represents a significant improvement and provides a major confidence boost ahead of next month’s Asian Games in Japan.
(Inputs from Hockey India)
