India hockey the most successful team in Olympic history with THIS amazing stat

Indian Hockey team overcame four decades of disappointment after securing a well-deserved bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

The Indian Hockey Team pose with their Bronze medal, Image credit: Twitter
By Amruth Kalidas | Aug 6, 2021 | 5 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

The dreams of billions of hockey fans came true when India bagged a historic bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, beating Germany 5-4 in an edge-of-the-seat thriller to claim its first medal in 41 years that will hopefully revive the sport’s fortunes in a country that is considered the spiritual home of the game.

India last won an Olympic medal in Hockey in 1980 — a gold in Moscow. On Thursday, Manpreet Singh’s team overcame four decades of disappointment as it captured a well-deserved bronze medal to take India’s tally in the Olympic Games hockey competitions to 12 medals — most in Olympic history — eight gold, one silver and three bronze, surpassing Germany, with whom they were tied at 11 (4 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze).

Let us take a look at the 12 instances where India was on the podium at the Olympic games.

Gold – Amsterdam, 1928

The Olympics introduced the wizardry of Major Dhyan Chand to the world. India scored 29 goals in five matches while conceding none en route to their first hockey gold. Dhyan Chand was on the scoresheet 14 times. A glorious journey began. India’s run consisted of a 6-0 mauling of Austria, a 9-0 thumping of Belgium, a 5-0 rout of Denmark, a 6-0 decimation of Switzerland, before a 3-0 win over hosts Netherlands in the final.

Gold – Los Angeles, 1932

India started their defence with an 11-1 rout of Japan with Roop Singh, Dhyan Chand’s younger brother, scoring thrice. Dhyan Chand himself scored four times. Next, a 10-goal charge from Roop Singh and eight goals from the wizard himself secured a massive 24-1 win against the USA in the final. The scoreline remains a world record to the day.

Gold – Berlin, 1936

With Dhyan Chand as captain, the Indian hockey team completed a hat-trick of Olympic golds at Berlin 1936. This time, India scored 38 goals in five matches and only conceded one in the final against Germany. Dhyan Chand bagged his second hat-trick in the Olympic finals which sealed a thumping 8-1 victory.

Gold – London, 1948

India continued their dominance in the Olympics after achieving independence in 1947. A new superstar of the game rose from the ranks in Balbir Singh Sr. India collected 19 goals in three games to progress to the final, where they hammered hosts Great Britain 4-0 to stretch their Olympic gold-winning streak to four.

Gold – Helsinki, 1952

Having to deal with the cold conditions in Helsinki which they weren’t quite used to back home, the Indian team marched their way to a staggering fifth gold medal on the trot, with Balbir Singh Sr. scoring nine goals in three games. India faced the Netherlands in the final, which they won 6-1, five of those goals being scored by Balbir.

Gold – Melbourne, 1956

It almost started getting hopeless for their opponents at this stage as India won yet another gold in the men’s hockey event at the Olympics to make it an unprecedented six in a row. However, this time, they squared off against neighbours Pakistan for the first time in the sport, winning the final by a narrow 1-0 margin. India maintained a clean sheet throughout their campaign.

Silver – Rome, 1960

After all the years of various teams trying and failing to halt their juggernaut, it was Pakistan that finally brought India’s gold-medal streak in the Olympics to an end as they defeated their neighbours by a 1-0 margin — similar to the one in the 1956 Olympic final, only this time they were the ones to score.

Gold – Tokyo, 1964

After the shock defeat in Rome four years earlier, India was back on top in Olympic hockey as they ended up with gold medals around their necks the last the time Olympics took place in Tokyo. India entered the semis unbeaten, having won four of their six group games, before beating Australia in the semis. They faced Pakistan for a third consecutive time in the final, and the scoreline remained unchanged — 1-0.

Bronze – Mexico City, 1968

The golden era of India hockey was slowly starting to fade around this time, though the Indian team was still a force to reckon. The first time they failed to win a semi-final in the Olympics happened in the Mexican capital in 1968. Falling short against Australia in the semis by a 2-1 margin. India, however, would end their campaign on a high by beating West Germany 2-1 in the bronze medal match.

Bronze – Munich, 1972

The 1972 Olympics, remembered for all the wrong reasons in world history, saw India finish outside the top two in hockey for a second consecutive time, this time getting beaten by neighbours and rivals Pakistan 2-0. India once again bounced back from the semi-final defeat, this time beating Netherlands 2-1 in the bronze medal match.

Gold – Moscow, 1980

Moscow would be the last time India would win an Olympic medal in hockey for the next four decades. The path to the final was a relatively easy one thanks to a large number of major hockey forces missing from the Games due to the US-led boycott. In a tweaked format, India won three and drew two matches in round-robin stage to finish among the top two that qualified for the final. India would then edge Spain 4-3 in the final clash to collect their eighth gold and 11th medal overall, which would remain their last until Manpreet Singh and Co’s bronze 41 years later.

Bronze – Tokyo, 2021

Manpreet-led Indian team began their campaign with a 3-2 victory over New Zealand, but suffered a 7-1 hammering at the hands of Australia in their second Pool A meeting. They quickly brushed off the defeat though, and would go on to win their next three group games, before defeating Great Britain 3-1 in the quarters to enter the semi-finals. It took one bad quarter in the clash against Belgium to leave them fighting for bronze. The team clinched their first medal in decades in spectacular fashion, bouncing from 1-3 down to sneak out a thrilling 5-4 win over Germany.