New Delhi, Aug. 27 -- The Indian women's hockey team pulled off a dominant 3-1 win over higher-ranked Germany in a classification match to finish a creditable fifth in the FIH World Cup 2026, its best show in 52 years on Thursday. Navneet Kaur (44th and 47th) scored a brace to play a major role in the win as India ended their campaign on a high.

Ishika (43rd minute) was the other goal getter for India. Lynn Krings pulled one back for Germany in the 59th minute. This was the Indian women team's best performance since finishing fourth in the inaugural World Cup in 1974 under Ajinder Kaur's leadership.

The current Indian team has 11 World Cup debutants, and the fifth place finish makes it more noteworthy. Ninth-ranked India suffered just o...