Indian hockey in recent times, has come no where near the golden run it enjoyed in the pre independence days. Most of us hear or read about the Indian hockey team's dismal performances of late but many of us do not know the extent of success which Indian hockey witnessed and their mind boggling achievements in the period from 1928 - 1956. As a tribute to that golden period, I would like to list down some facts regarding our national game which should bring a sense of pride for all sports loving Indians.
1. India won 6 consecutive gold medals in the Olympics in the period 1928-1956 which is considered as the golden era of Indian hockey.
2. In this period, India played 24 matches, won all 24, scored 178 goals against 7 goals conceded.
3. Indian has won a total of 8 Olympic gold medals for hockey, the other 2 being in 1964 at Tokyo and 1980 in Moscow.
4. India's goal keeper Richard James Allen did not concede a single goal at the 1928 Olympics. In 3 Olympic events from 1928 to 1936, he conceded only 3 goals.
5. The 24-1 drubbing of USA in the 1932 Olympics was and is the highest victory margin in international hockey history. Roop Singh scored 10 goals in that match, which is a record.
6. India defeated Germany 8-1 in the finals of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, with Hitler in attendance. With India leading 6-0, Hitler stormed out of the arena midway in disgust and then some German players indulged in violent tactics to stop the Indian juggernaut. Dhyan Chand was injured in the process but still India managed to win the match comfortably 8-1 and claim their 3rd Olympic gold.
7. A statue has been erected at Vienna in honor of the great Dhyan Chand, which shows him with 4 hands and 4 bats, symbolizing that no one with 2 hands can play the way he did!
8. In 1948, India played with a new look team as the country went through a partition post independence and some of the star players migrated to the other side of the border and played for Pakistan. Nevertheless, the result was the same and India stormed into the finals and defeated England 4-0 to win yet another gold medal.
9. The medal haul did not stop and India won its 5th consecutive gold at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki. The win was special for Chinnadorai Desamuthu as he became the youngest gold medal winner at the age of 19.
10. The story was no different for the Melbourne Olympics in 1956 and India won its 6th gold medal. It was a sweet victory as it vanquished its arch rival, Pakistan in the final. However the Rome Olympics in 1960 saw a reverse in fortunes, as Pakistan defeated India and stopped the golden march of the Indian team.
11. The 2 arch rivals met for the 3rd consecutive time at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo where India prevailed oer Pakistan and regained the championship.
12. India displayed a below par performance in the 1976 Olympics at Montreal and had to return empty handed. It however managed to get into winning ways again and won the gold medal at the Moscow Olympics in 1980.
After all these historic performances, India saw a big decline in performance and of late has been faring very poorly. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, for the first time in history, India didnt even qualify for the tournament. In 2012 they managed to qualify but had a disastrous time in London as they lost all their matches and was left languishing at the bottom of the standings.
Rapid steps need to be taken to arrest this slide further and the entire hockey administration needs to be cleaned up from the roots. Ex players can fit into these roles which would augur well for the sport and improve the standards to what is required to compete at the international level. State of the art equipment must be brought in to instill supreme fitness to the players and this must start right at the domestic level. Above all, the players must be motivated enough to gather the will and determination to play to win and not play just to play.
1. India won 6 consecutive gold medals in the Olympics in the period 1928-1956 which is considered as the golden era of Indian hockey.
2. In this period, India played 24 matches, won all 24, scored 178 goals against 7 goals conceded.
3. Indian has won a total of 8 Olympic gold medals for hockey, the other 2 being in 1964 at Tokyo and 1980 in Moscow.
4. India's goal keeper Richard James Allen did not concede a single goal at the 1928 Olympics. In 3 Olympic events from 1928 to 1936, he conceded only 3 goals.
5. The 24-1 drubbing of USA in the 1932 Olympics was and is the highest victory margin in international hockey history. Roop Singh scored 10 goals in that match, which is a record.
6. India defeated Germany 8-1 in the finals of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, with Hitler in attendance. With India leading 6-0, Hitler stormed out of the arena midway in disgust and then some German players indulged in violent tactics to stop the Indian juggernaut. Dhyan Chand was injured in the process but still India managed to win the match comfortably 8-1 and claim their 3rd Olympic gold.
7. A statue has been erected at Vienna in honor of the great Dhyan Chand, which shows him with 4 hands and 4 bats, symbolizing that no one with 2 hands can play the way he did!
8. In 1948, India played with a new look team as the country went through a partition post independence and some of the star players migrated to the other side of the border and played for Pakistan. Nevertheless, the result was the same and India stormed into the finals and defeated England 4-0 to win yet another gold medal.
9. The medal haul did not stop and India won its 5th consecutive gold at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki. The win was special for Chinnadorai Desamuthu as he became the youngest gold medal winner at the age of 19.
10. The story was no different for the Melbourne Olympics in 1956 and India won its 6th gold medal. It was a sweet victory as it vanquished its arch rival, Pakistan in the final. However the Rome Olympics in 1960 saw a reverse in fortunes, as Pakistan defeated India and stopped the golden march of the Indian team.
11. The 2 arch rivals met for the 3rd consecutive time at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo where India prevailed oer Pakistan and regained the championship.
12. India displayed a below par performance in the 1976 Olympics at Montreal and had to return empty handed. It however managed to get into winning ways again and won the gold medal at the Moscow Olympics in 1980.
After all these historic performances, India saw a big decline in performance and of late has been faring very poorly. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, for the first time in history, India didnt even qualify for the tournament. In 2012 they managed to qualify but had a disastrous time in London as they lost all their matches and was left languishing at the bottom of the standings.
Rapid steps need to be taken to arrest this slide further and the entire hockey administration needs to be cleaned up from the roots. Ex players can fit into these roles which would augur well for the sport and improve the standards to what is required to compete at the international level. State of the art equipment must be brought in to instill supreme fitness to the players and this must start right at the domestic level. Above all, the players must be motivated enough to gather the will and determination to play to win and not play just to play.
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