Amstelveen, Aug. 26 -- The Indian women's hockey team will look to sign off from the FIH Hockey World Cup Belgium and Netherlands 2026 on a high when they face Germany in the fifth-sixth position classification match on Thursday. It will be India's best-ever finish at an FIH World Cup since the historic fourth-place finish at the inaugural edition in 1974 - underlining Indian women hockey's progress on the global stage.

India have played with tremendous resilience throughout the tournament, losing just once in five matches. They held higher-ranked sides such as Paris Olympics silver medallists China, England and Australia to draws, while also recording their most prolific World Cup victory with a commanding 6-1 win over South Africa. The...