India, the most decorated country in Field Hockey at the Olympics, were missing from the podium for an unbelievable 41 years before the jinx was broken in the 2020 Tokyo Games with a bronze medal, pushing the country’s tally to a whopping 12 medals in the event. And today, that tally became 13 with India’s second bronze in a row – the first time in 52 years that the Indian team has managed to medal in consecutive Olympics.
Here’s a look at India’s Glorious history in the Hockey Field and a renaissance of sorts in recently.
2024 Paris – Bronze
The Indian men’s hockey team lead by Harmanpreet Singh defeated Spain 2-1 in the third-place playoff to clinch the bronze medal. Skipper Harmanpreet Singh scored both goals to hand India a back-to-back medal in hockey after the Bronze from Tokyo 2020.
2020 Tokyo – Bronze
The Indian men’s hockey team promised a medal and they delivered, ending an excruciating long wait of 41 years. India defeated Germany 5-4 in an edge-of-the-seat thriller to win a bronze and India’s 12th medal in hockey at the Summer Games.
1980 Moscow – Gold
After a tumultuous period following the hockey debacle at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, India fielded a relatively young but talented side for the Moscow Games, where barring skipper Vasudevan Baskaran and goalkeeper Bir Bahadur Chhetri, the rest made their debut. It was not all smooth sailing for the Indians who drew 2-2 with both Poland and Spain in the league phase while trouncing a weak Tanzania 18-0, Cuba 13-0 and Russia 4-2 to qualify for the final. India had to work hard for the gold as Spain put up a fighting performance
1972 Munich – Bronze
The Indian hockey team to the Munich Olympics sported a new look with only four players from the 1968 edition making the cut. Making his Olympic debut was Ashok Kumar, son of legendary Dhyan Chand and also the fiery forward B.P. Govinda, who went on to become an iconic figure with the distinctive head band. For India, it was another disappointing outing despite a strong showing in the league phase when they won five and drew two matches to qualify for the semifinals. However, India went down to their old foes Pakistan 0-2, but scrambled to a 2-1 win against Holland in the playoff to pick up the bronze medal for the second Olympics in a row.
1968 Mexico City – Bronze
With Gurbux Singh leading India for the majority of the Olympic cycle, the team was divided following the national federation’s decision to snub the full-back just ahead of the Games.The Pakistan-born Gurbux Singh didn’t sit quietly and made his disappointment public. This forced IHF to name joint-captains for the Olympics for the first time in the team’s history. The weakness in the Indian team was thoroughly exploited by Australia in the semi-final. Having played India in the past, the Aussies tweaked their gameplan to frustrate the Indian hockey team and force them into making mistakes. Hurt by their semi-final loss, the Indian hockey team came out roaring in the play-off to beat West Germany 2-1 to return home with the bronze medal.
1964 Tokyo – Gold
The gold in the Japanese capital was India’s seventh in the quadrennial event with the last one coming in 1980 at Moscow, ending the fondly missed ‘golden era’ for the sport in the country.Determined to regain its lost crown, the Indian hockey team did everything to ensure that the Olympic title returned home four years later. This period also saw hockey in India evolve. They ditched their skilful artistry with the stick and banked on a more physical game while relying on short corners for the bulk of their goals.Led by captain Charanjit Singh, India won 2-0 against Belgium in the opening group match and it was followed by their first-ever draw at the Olympic Games.India played nine matches – winning seven and drawing two – in just 12 days and celebrated with a traditional bhangra dance once they had sealed the gold medal.
1960 Rome – Silver
Having dominated the world since 1928, the Indian hockey team fell short of another Olympic gold, losing to arch-rivals Pakistan in the final at the Rome Games.Captained by the veteran half-back Leslie Claudius in his fourth Olympics, the most by an Indian then — boasted of a quality mix of youth and experience. India beat Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand by convincing margins to move into the quarter-finals. The team, however, looked scratchy. This despite a dominant 10-0 win over Denmark and conceding just a solitary goal in the group stages.
1956 Melbourne – Gold
The discerning reckon the hockey team to the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, led by centre-forward Balbir Singh, was one of the best ever to leave Indian shores. For India, the league phase was a relatively easy affair as they hammered Afghanistan 14-0, the United States 16-0 and Singapore 6-0, but they lost skipper Balbir Singh, who suffered a fractured finger in the first game. India won 1-0 against Germany in the semifinals. Randhir Singh Gentle converted a second-half short corner for India who beat Pakistan 1-0 in the final.
1952 Helsinki – Gold
Balbir Singh Senior’s genius helped the Indian hockey team overcome some infighting, drop in form and the elements to land their fifth straight Olympic gold. . They reigned supreme over the Netherlands in the final Balbir Singh Sr. scored five goals on the day, a record in the final of a men’s Olympic field hockey tournament that stands to this day, and captain KD Singh Babu put his name on the scoresheet too.
1948 London – Gold
It was a wonder that India managed to field a team for the 1948 Olympics which were held on the conclusion of the World War II and a year after the traumatic partition that threw the sub-continent into a massive turmoil. But a record fourth gold medal brought back smiles on the faces of the people, who were struggling to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of the partition. There were as many as eight players from Bombay in the squad led by Kishan Lal of the Railways. The contingent also included the likes of Leslie Claudius who went on to play four Olympics and Balbir Singh (Punjab) who became a legend in his own right.
1936 Berlin – Gold
As destiny would have it, the Berlin Games was to be Dhyan Chand’s third and last Olympics at the age of 31, for he had decided to retire. Undoubtedly at the peak of his prowess, he was handed the Indian team’s captaincy. India won all their three league matches and hammered France 10-0 in the semifinals and Germany 8-1 in the gold medal round, but not without some drama. Dhyan Chand lost a tooth in a collision with the particularly aggressive Germany goalkeeper Tito Warnholtz who had a nightmarish game.
1932 Los Angeles – Gold
Having won their first Olympic hockey gold four years ago, the Indian hockey team found itself in unusual circumstances at the 1936 Los Angeles Games. But despite the bickering and groupism in the team, India won their second gold medal. India notched a record 24-1 win against the hosts with Roop Singh scoring 10 and Dhyan Chand eight, and drubbed Japan 11-1 to win their second Olympic gold medal.
1928 Amsterdam – Gold
The dominance of Indo-British hockey team started from Amsterdam. India beat Netherlands in the final to help India claim the gold their first of many gold medals in hockey. The competition that India won convincingly saw the birth of a legend in Dhyan Chand who was the top scorer of the tournament with 14 goals, including a hat-trick in the final against the Netherlands while India did not concede a single goal in five matches.
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Read More: Reviving the Legacy: India’s Consecutive Olympic Hockey Medals After 52 Years – News18
