Olympics: How has India's men's team performed in field hockey?
The 2024 Paris Olympics will be underway on July 26 with a total of 184 countries participating in the tourney. Athletes from different corners of the globe will compete across 32 sports for 329 gold medals. Several Indians are also among the athletes to watch out for. Expectations are high from the nation's hockey contingent. Let's decode India's medal tally in field hockey.
Eight gold medals in hockey
Eight of India's 10 gold medals have come in men's hockey. The tally also includes one silver and three bronze medals. The 1928 Amsterdam Olympics marked the start of the Indian hockey team's sensational run. Under Dhyan Chand's leadership, India secured 29 goals and conceded none as they won their first Olympic gold medal.
The dominance of the Indian hockey team
The Indian hockey team completed a memorable hat-trick of gold medals by triumphing in the Los Angeles 1932 Olympics and the Berlin 1936 Olympics. As Olympics didn't take place in 1940 and 1944 due to World War II, the 1948 London Games were India's first event as an independent nation. The hockey team dominated again, as it clinched its fourth Olympic gold.
Sixth successive gold in hockey
The Indian hockey team repeated its feat at the 1952 and 1956 Olympics. The nation hence won six back-to-back Olympic golds in hockey. The hockey side narrowly fell short of its seventh successive title in 1960 as Pakistan beat them in the final. However, the Indian hockey team tasted glory again in the 1964 event.
A halt before triumph in 1980
The 1968 Mexico Olympics was the first edition that saw India finish out of the top two. They settled for the bronze. India finished with a bronze yet again at the Munich 1972 Olympics. The team hit a jaw-dropping law at the 1976 Montreal Olympics as they finished seventh. Nevertheless, the Indian hockey side became Olympic champions again at the 1980 Moscow Games.
A drought of 41 years
The 1984 Los Angeles Olympics was the start of the Indian hockey team's medal drought in Olympics. The team, in fact, couldn't even earn a qualification for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Though they returned for the 2012 London Games, India finished at the 12th place (last) that year. In 2020, the Indian hockey team broke its 41-year Olympic medal drought with a bronze.
What about the women's team?
The Olympic medal is still elusive for the Indian women's hockey team. The side recorded its best-ever finish of fourth in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Notably, the women's hockey team returned to the Olympics in 2016 after last featuring at the event in 1980.
