Over this weekend in Berlin, the women’s FIH Pro League season will come to a close with six teams in action in double-headers. There has been little doubt about which team will finish top of the table, because there really is no one close to the Netherlands in women’s hockey at the moment. Having wrapped up the title, the Olympic champions will face Belgium in a no-stakes top three clash.It is at the bottom of the table where the real drama lies. And it involves an Indian team desperate to earn some points to stay in the league for the next season. The three teams that are locked in the battle to avoid relegation are Germany, England and China. While India will face Asian rivals – and arguably the most-improved women’s international hockey side in the recent year or so – China, Germany and England go up against each other.Relegation threatWith 9 teams competing in the Pro League (both men’s and women’s), there are two main storylines to follow. Closer to the top, there is a spot to be won at the World Cup next year (for teams that have not already qualified). And at the bottom, the last-placed team gets relegated from the Pro League for the following year. When the Pro League began, there were initially doubts around the importance of the tournament in the calendar and not many teams were sold on it – including India. But gradually, it has gained prominence and relevance. Many teams still see it as a platform to groom talent but results have a meaning because there are end-goals to work towards.Current standingsAfter 14 matches played, India are at the bottom of the table with 10 points, having won twice in regulation time, and once earning the shootout bonus after a draw. Germany and England have 13 points and 11 points, respectively.A reminder of the points system: An outright win within regulation time of four quarters means a team will be awarded 3 points. A draw means both teams will earn 1 point before a shootout is played. Then 1 bonus point is awarded to the winner of the shootout. There are no points to the loser of a match in normal time.For tiebreakers, the first criterion is number of wins, followed by goal difference and then goals for.Final match-upsFormer India coach Janneke Schopman is the current head coach of Germany and she’d have been mighty relieved after beating China in a tense match on Wednesday, getting one over a familiar rival in Alyson Annan. Germany have destiny in their own hands as they just have to avoid losing outright against England in both matches. England, just below Germany, would be hoping to pull off at least one outright win. David Ralph’s side had a fairly productive home leg in London, where they registered two important wins to earn six massive points – one against Australia and another versus Spain, a mighty impressive 4-1 win in the last match at Lee Valley. It is that result that pushed them above India into a relatively comfortable position.Story continues below this adIndia meanwhile, face two daunting matches against Alyson’s China, who’d be smarting after the defeat against Germany. China are, of course, the Paris Olympics silver medallists too and will be red-hot favourites to win the Asia Cup later this year. India coach Harendra Singh, on the other hand, has seen his side suffer two close defeats against Australia, and managed to hold Argentina to a draw, and then lost twice against Belgium.ScenariosFor Schopman’s Germany, it’s simple and in their own hands. They just have to win more points than England. Two draws against England would be enough if they lose both the shootouts. Given their much better goal difference, one outright win for Germany would be enough as India can only equal them in that case. If they lose both matches, however, they’d be under pressure.England are just one point ahead of India, so they are vulnerable too if they can’t get a couple of points at least from Germany. England will be safe if India lose both their matches. If England win at least one match against Germany, India will need at least four points from six against China.Finally, India have the toughest task of all three teams. They need at least one positive result from the two matches against China, not easy to begin with. If India get 3 points at least out of 6, England will be forced to win at least one match against Germany. If India somehow get 6 points, they’d still be dependent on England dropping at least one point against Germany.Story continues below this adWhy staying in the Pro League is importantIf India do get relegated, then they would have to compete in the next edition of FIH Nations Cup – which is the route they took to earn their current spot in the league. The biggest downside of not being in the Pro League, especially leading up to a World Cup-cum-Asian Games year in 2026, would the lack of structured matches against the best teams in the world. Teams outside the Pro League would be dependent on arranging bilateral Test matches against top teams, and that would be contingent on said teams having time off from their calendars. Even when Pro League wasn’t always a priority tournament, it played a big role in the Indian men’s team’s run to bronze in Tokyo – just the regularity of competing at the top. Having already suffered the setback of not qualifying for Paris 2024, this would further set Indian women’s hockey back.