The recent performance of the national teams in the Tokyo Olympics was remarkable and every countryman was praising the Manpreet and Rani led teams for their outstanding conduct at the Oi Hockey Stadium, Tokyo. Thanks to the Patnaik government for seeing the potential and came to savour the sport which has a glorious history. 

India has won eight golds in Hockey since their maiden play in 1928, Netherlands Olympics. The last Gold match was in Moscow, 1980, Summer Olympics. Since then India was waiting for a medal at the most celebrated sport. This year, the men’s team claimed the Bronze at the Olympics by defeating Germany 5-4, while the women played their maiden semi-finals and stood at fourth. A marvellous play by both the teams on the world stage. 

Just when Mr Patnaik was lauding the men’s and women’s teams after the grand show at the Olympics, he announced, “We, in Odisha, are elated that our partnership with Hockey India has led to this great achievement for the country. I believe Odisha and hockey are destined to become synonymous. We will continue our partnership with Hockey India. Odisha will support the Indian hockey teams for 10 more years.”

Although the exact amount of sponsorship is yet to be disclosed. In 2018, the littoral state had signed a ₹100 crore deal with Hockey India for financing the men’s and women’s teams for 5 years after Sahara India withdrew, subsequently getting entangled in legal issues.

Mr Patnaik, who has honoured each player with ₹10 Lakh and ₹5 lakh each to the support staff, articulated that each team player has made the country proud with their blazing battle at Tokyo Olympics. 

“These are deeply emotional moments for India to witness the revival of Indian hockey. For nearly four decades, hockey fans have been yearning to see India grab a medal at the Olympics. The way the entire country was glued to the screens to watch the hockey teams’ matches, it is quite evident there is something more to hockey than just sports. In these crisis times, the teams have brought smiles to the faces of crores of Indians. We all should be thankful to our boys and girls,” he said, as quoted by the Hindustan Times. To that, showing their gratitude to him each team gifted him a framed jersey autographed by the players.

Patnaik also honoured the ‘player with the maximum number of goals scored’ award to Harmanpreet Singh while PR Sreejesh won the award for the player with the maximum number of goals saved. Nilakanta Sharma won the award for the maximum number of goal assists, Rupinder Pal Singh won the award for the player with the maximum number of defensive tackles and Harmanpreet Singh and Amit Rohidas were complimented with awards for maximum interceptions in the midfield.

In the women’s team, Gurjit Kaur and Vandana Katariya won the award for the maximum number of goals scored. Savita Punia won the award for the maximum number of goals saved. Rani Rampal and Navneet Kaur jointly won the award for the maximum number of goal assists. Deep Grace Ekka won for the maximum number of defensive tackles and P Sushila Chanu was awarded for maximum interceptions in the midfield.

“The team and I are very happy to be present here today as we wish to express our heartfelt thanks to the Odisha government for supporting our team. Our team is always made to feel so welcome when we come here… Odisha feels very much like the home of Indian hockey now,” said Rani, captain of the national women’s hockey team.

On the other hand, the captain of the men’s team, Manpreet Singh, who was delighted to be back in Odisha, said, “This bronze medal may have been won by us as players, but in reality, it equally belongs to India.” He also praised the Odisha CM for providing support to the hockey teams.

The post Odisha extended sponsorship to Indian Hockey for 10 more years first appeared on The History Book of Indian Hockey.

Expectations weren’t shattered even then. India was still in the race to battle for the Bronze. The contention was between India and Great Britain. Speculations were sky-high this time. The whole country was eyeing today’s match, which was scheduled for 7:00 AM, August 6.

Match began, following nationals anthems of both countries. Teams were all prepared to deliver a strong competition to the opponent. Although the start wasn’t very lucky for India, it was at the end of Q2 when team blue gained momentum and scored their first goal. India was under pressure, sticks on hand and aim on the goalpost. The Rio champions, Great Britain, don’t want to lose this time. They are all determined to beat the competitor. And in the end, they secured the third position in Hockey at the 2020 Olympics, beating India 4-3. It was a courageous match though.

Let’s travel to the highlights of today’s match.

Interesting stats

— Great Britain (England) is ranked 4th in the FIH rankings, while India is ninth in the list.

— The Rio Champions have the upper hand, winning two and drawing two of their last four games against India.

— Great Britain won the gold medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, while have won the bronze medal twice previously, in 1992 and 2012.

— India meanwhile has never been on the podium, and this is just their third appearance at the Summer Games.

IND v GBR | Highlights

6:51 AM, Ten minutes to go to witness a historical match.

6:52 AM, Teams are out in the field for the National Anthems. Hearts are beating fast, there is intensity in the player’s eyes. They had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

6:54 AM, Match begins. This is a big opportunity for team India.

7:00 AM, Capt. Rani Rampal and Vandana Katariya are key players for India in this battle for Bronze. GBR is attacking from left to right. The first five minutes are very crucial.

7:02 AM, First PC to Britain. Can India save it?

7:03 AM, India defended it well. Credits to Savita.

7:05 AM, Superb ball from Neha to Rani, but she took a lot of time to enter the circle and attack was wasted out.

7:11 AM, Another PC to Great Britain. The ball is averted and India survived again.

7:16 AM, End of the first quarter. Both teams are 0-0.

7:19 AM, Second quarter begins.

7:22 AM, GOAL!! Elena Rayer earns the first goal to team Britain. GBR leads 1-0.

7:24 AM, India resisted for the first quarter, but it didn’t take much time for GB to take possession in the second quarter. The goal, unfortunately, coming off an Indian stick. The reigning Olympic champions might be more dangerous now.

7:25 AM, PC to GBR. But it struck the side of the goalpost.

7:32 AM, GOAL!! GBR ahead India 2-0. Tomahawk shot and with a player down India relinquished another goal. McCallin makes the cross inside the circle, Robertson hammers it in to double Britain’s lead.

7:33 AM, PC to India. PC converted, and GOAL to team blue. Gurjit Kaur scores a drag-flick – and India pulls one back. Powerful shot, no goalkeeper, even a legend like Hinch has no chance to save this one. Fantastic save.

7:36 AM, India 1-2 Great Britain.

7:37 AM, Salima Tete earned a PC to India. Well done pride of Jharkhand. She moved swiftly inside the circle from the left-hand flank.

7:37 AM, Gurjit Kaur came to rescue. Once again she converted the PC and drew the match to 2-2. Wonderful job!

7:41 AM, GOAL!! Sushila Chanu enters inside the circle, Navneet attempted to put it in, but she missed, approaches Vandana Katariya to put the ball inside from the near post. India leads 3-2.

7:44 AM, A fantastic comeback for team India in the second half. Going from 0-2 down to a 3-2 lead.

7:54 AM, India is still ahead of Great Britain.

7:58 AM, PC to GBR, but saved. Monika defended well. Solid blocking to deny Britain once again on PC.

7:59 AM, Britain won’t let an easy go for India. Excellent ball by Anna Thomas inside the circle, there was no touch inside the circle. Lucky escape for India.

8:01 AM, GOAL!! Britain equalised the game. Both are 3-3 now.

8:03 AM, PC to India. Good job Sharmila to keep the GBR defence at bay. The ball touches McCallin’s. Another chance for India.

8:04 AM, Another PC! saved by Madeline Hinch. India denied scoring.

8:08 AM, The 19-year-old, Salima Tete is concerning Indian defence. India keeping possession. If they secure a goal here, it would put pressure on Britain.

8:25 AM, Grace Balsdon scores a goal. Great Britain leads 4-3.

8:31 AM, India is under pressure. Tension is all over the air.

8:43 AM, India is putting pressure on Great Britain. The last 90 seconds are very crucial.

8:45 AM, India lost the Bronze medal match to Great Britain 3-4. It was an electrifying match that went right down to a medal. But the women team has so much to be proud of. They stood against the Rio Gold Medalist and gave them strong competition. Well done girls! The Country is proud of you.

The post Tokyo 2020|India loses Bronze to Great Britain 3-4 first appeared on The History Book of Indian Hockey.

Hockey, however, is the game where India has shown its dominance for a long time ago. Claiming a maximum of eight golds in the Summer Olympics, India has reserved its spot at the top of the game. It all began in 1928 when the Indian men’s team won their first gold at the Olympics. This continued until 1956 with India earning six consecutive golds in the Olympics. By that time the national time made 178 goals and relinquished just seven. The air was in favour of India and of all the 25 matches, India claimed victory in all.

But facing Pakistan in Rome (1960), India saw its first defeat. India was unbeaten in 30 consecutive matches and scored 197 goals while giving away only eight. A new history was written.

Let’s walk through the outstanding matches played by team India and securing the top position in field hockey.

Dhyanchand was remarkable in Amsterdam

India set its foot in the Olympics in 1928. In the Amsterdam games, the world was introduced to the magic of Dhyanchand. At that time, the country was under British rule. It played a distinctive match, scoring 29 goals and conceding none. Beating the host Netherlands in the final India won its first gold. 

Dhyanchand, an eminent player, had scored 14 goals in total with two being scored at the final in the tournament. 

“Legend has it that the Dutch officials took his stick apart to see if there was a magnet hidden inside it! One newspaper report described it thus: ‘This is not a game of hockey, but magic. Dhyan Chand is, in fact, the magician of hockey,” stated in a report on Olympics.com.

An exceptional feat in Los Angeles

The noted player Dhyan Chand once again amazed the fandom in Los Angeles Olympics (1932). Observing his ace performance Los Angeles Times titled him the “best athlete” of the Olympic Games. It was a minor event with only three teams playing and Europeans missing the event. 

India achieved a record win beating the host USA 24-1. Chand and his brother Roop Singh scored 18 and bashed Japan 11-1 claiming second gold in the Olympics.

Posters were up to watch the greatest of all time in Berlin 

Germany hosted the summer Olympics in 1936. Posters were all up over the capital flashing: “Visit the hockey stadium to watch the Indian magician Dhyan Chand in action.”

Under the captainship of stout-hearted player, Chand, the team was considered by some as the greatest squad of all time. Although the beginning wasn’t very exciting, team India, however, managed its win by beating the host in the final.

“Dhyan Chand scored six goals in the 1936 Berlin Olympic final. This despite losing a tooth after a collision with German goalkeeper Tito Warnholtz. Dhyan Chand returned to the field after seeking medical attention and in the second half, he reportedly played barefoot to run faster,” reported  Olympics.com.

Representing an Independent country

The 1948 Olympics, held in London, was epoch-making for India. For the first time, the team is going to represent an independent India, not a country under the British raj. Excited to march the tricolour flag, they knew it wasn’t going to be an easy match as two dominions, India and Pakistan, are going to face each other on the podium. 

The most respected hockey player of Modern India, Balbir Singh Senior, made India win by defeating its former colonial master on the podium. India won by 4-0 and sealed another Gold. 

“As our national anthem was being played and the tri-colour was going up, I felt that I too was flying with the flag. The sense of patriotism that I felt was beyond any other feeling in the world,” said late Balbir Singh at the Chandigarh Press Club, as quoted by the Scroll.in

Another Gold by scoring at the right time in Helsinki

In 1952, administrative interventions vitiated the team build-up for Olympic Games for India. This time Helsinki was chosen to host the most anticipated games.

KD Singh Babu, captain, and his men faced hardships to adapt to the conditions in Finland.

“Nanaji (grandpa) told me that the team would draw the curtains at all times and even used bedsheets to block out the light and make an entirely dark room to be able to get some sleep,” Kabir Singh, Balbir Singh Sr’s grandson, is quoted as telling the Olympic Channel.

The beginning of the tournament wasn’t very exciting but India, like always, managed to rise at the right time. India beats Great Britain 3-1 in the semi-final. Balbir Singh Sr. scored the second of his three Olympic hat-tricks. The last day match was spectacular with Balbir Singh scoring five goals in the final, record goals in the final which remains unbeaten till today, and defeated Netherlands 6-1 to win their fifth consecutive medal.

Balbir Singh stunned everyone in Melbourne

Till now India installed itself as the greatest of the game. This time Balbir Singh led the squad in the Melbourne Olympics (1956). Securing its sixth gold in the games, team India once again was unequalled in the event.

It did not turn over a single goal in the entire tournament, only after the  1928 Olympics.

The final was played between India and Pakistan. With one dominion defeating its former part, India crowned itself preeminent in field hockey. Balbir Singh had not played in any of the Indian hockey team’s matches since his injury.

The post Hockey India: A Magnificent history with maximum Golds in the Olympics first appeared on The History Book of Indian Hockey.