The 2023 Men's Hockey World Cup, starting on January 13, is set to be played in India for a second straight time after the year 2018, and the fourth time overall. Given these statistics, it is surprising that their last title came all the way back in 1975. Prior to this, there was a time when India had their golden era in hockey and during this time, no team in the world could defeat the Indian hockey team. This period was from 1928 to 1960.
India's Golden age of hockey
The period from 1928 to 1960 is considered the golden era of Indian hockey. During this time, the Indian hockey team dominated the world of hockey from all over the world would bow down to players like Major Dhyanchand, who was then known as the magician of hockey. He spread magic with his hockey stick as India progressed day by day in hockey and maintained an empire for almost 32 years.
Six straight Olympic gold medals
The Indian hockey team participated in the Amsterdam Olympics in 1928 and won the Olympic gold medal for the first time, defeating all teams continuously. Hockey wizard Major Dhyanchand had an important contribution to this. Once the gold medal was in their hands, nothing could stop the team from winning the top prize in the next five Olympic events.
These include the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the 1948 London Olympics, the 1952 Helsinki Olympics and the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. The Indian hockey team captured six consecutive gold medals without losing a single match, a matter of immense pride.
Finally vanquished by Pakistan in 1960
After winning the gold medal in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, the Indian hockey team also performed well in the 1960 Rome Olympics and made it to the finals as they hoped to win a seventh gold medal. Standing in their way were their biggest rivals Pakistan, who also reached the finals.
There was a close fight between the neighbouring countries as Pakistan defeated India 1-0 in the final. This ended the invincible run for the last 32 years of the Indian hockey team. The seventh consecutive gold medal slipped from the hands of the Indian hockey team after they faced defeat for the first time after winning 30 consecutive matches in the Olympics.
Later the Indian hockey team went on to win two more gold medals in the Olympics. The side currently have a total of 12 medals including eight gold medals in hockey.
