With The FIH Men's Hockey World Cup to kick off from January 13, the focus will be on the host nation, India. The Harmanpreet Singh-led side will begin their World Cup campaign against Spain on January 13 at the newly-built Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela followed by their second pool D match against England. They will move to Bhubaneswar to play their third pool match against Wales. The knockout stage will begin with crossover matches on January 22 and 23. The quarterfinals will take place on January 25 and the semifinals on January 27. (More Hockey News)
With that, let's look at the five special moments in Indian hockey that have made the country proud.
1928 Olympics, Amsterdam
India made their Olympic debut during the 1928 event in Amsterdam and struck gold in their very first outing. It turned out that defending champions Britain had withdrawn after losing to India 4-0 in an exhibition match. This win started a sequence of ten consecutive Olympic medals for India, of which seven were gold. This feat remains a record in men's hockey.
1975 World Cup, Kuala Lumpur
India met arch-rivals Pakistan at the 1975 World Cup event in a high-octane final after beating hosts Malaysia 3-2 in the semi-final. India opened the scoring thanks to Surjit Singh and a World Cup-clinching goal from Ashok Kumar saw India beat their rivals 2-1. After coming close to winning in the 1971 and 1973 editions, India savoured this victory as they became the first Asian team to win the trophy.
2022 Commonwealth Games Women's Hockey, Birmingham
The year 2022 was a memorable one for hockey especially when the women's team won the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games by beating heavyweights New Zealand 2-1 in a closely contested match. Salima Tete opened the scoring for India but just when they thought they had the match within their grasp, New Zealand equalised with 18 seconds left on the clock thanks to Olivia Merry. The match headed to a penalty shootout and that's where skipper Savita Punia aced herself as she brought her 'A-game' to the fore. This was India's third medal at a CWG event and first in sixteen years.
2014 Asian Games, Incheon
Seeded ninth in the FIH World Rankings, India came in the tournament as less than favourites but knew the task at hand. A win in the tournament would guarantee them a ticket to the 2016 Rio Olympics. The final saw India take on Pakistan. It went to penalties after 1-1 in regulation time. Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh kept his cool as India won their first gold at the event after 16 years and earned a direct qualification to the 2016 Olympics.
2002 Commonwealth Games, Manchester
Led by Suraj Lata Devi, India put an end to Australia's monopoly in the event. India defeated New Zealand in the semi-final and faced England in the final. The Indian team defeated the much favoured English opponents 3-2 to win the gold medal. The victory made a big impact and is regarded as one of the inspirations for the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Chak De! India (2007).
