The Indian Hockey Federation was formed at Gwalior in 1925. India joined the International Hockey Federation (FIH) in 1928, becoming the first non-European member of the FIH.
The first Indian sports teams to ever set foot in Australia/New Zealand (1926), Europe (1928) and Japan/USA (1932) were the Indian hockey teams. The first Indian sports team to do a round-the-world tour was the 1932 Indian hockey team. They played matches in Colombo, Malaya, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Omaha, Philadelphia, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague and Budapest, before triumphantly returning to the shores of India.
Asia's first Olympic gold medal was won by the 1928 Indian Olympic hockey team. After the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, an awe-struck Dutch journalist wrote "The Indian ball seems ignorant of the laws of gravity. One of those tanned diabolical jugglers stares at the ball intently; it gets upright and remains suspended in the air. This is no longer the game of hockey. It is a juggling turn. It is splendid."
After the 1932 Olympics, the Los Angeles sports journalists voted the Indian hockey team's showing as "the most outstanding exhibition of skill in any sport in the Olympics." A cartoon published in the Evening News of India showed Dhyan Chand's stick in the form of a cobra, and Dhyan Chand whistling in front of it like a snake charmer. The Viceroy of India sent a cable congratulating the Olympic champions. It read, "I am delighted to learn of the splendid victory of our hockey team. Please give all members of the side my warm congratulations upon retaining the world championship."
In the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Dhyan Chand, who was the captain of the team, had the distinction of scoring 11 out of 38 goals scored by his side. The Fuhrer was very impressed by Dhyan Chand's performance in the final, where India whipped Germany 8-1 in front of 40,000 fans. At a dinner party after the final, Hitler offered to elevate Dhyan Chand to the rank of a Colonel if he migrated to Germany. Ever the patriot, Dhyan Chand turned down the offer.
Dhyan Chand was to hockey what Bradman is to cricket and Pele is to football. Dhyan Chand scored over a thousand goals in a career spanning 1926-1948. The ultimate tribute was paid to him by a sports club in Vienna, which built a statue of Dhyan Chand with four hands and four sticks. To those Viennese, no ordinary man with two hands and one stick could have played so well.
The first sporting achievement of independent India was the 1948 Olympic hockey gold medal. Over 25,000 spectators watched the 1948 Olympic hockey final between India and Britain, played at Wembley. This was the first time that India and Britain played an official hockey match, and India went on to beat Britain 4-0. That was the first time that India's national flag was displayed and India's national anthem, Jana Gana Mana, was played at an Olympic venue.
England introduced both cricket and hockey to India. While it took 20 years and 15 matches before India beat England in cricket for the first time (1952 test in Chennai), it took 37 years and 22 matches before England beat India in hockey for the first time (Britain 2 - India 1, 1985 Champions Trophy in Perth). As long as England ruled India, they never played a match with the Indian hockey team.
India has won a grand total of 8 Olympic gold medals in hockey – in no other sport has India won even an Olympic silver medal, let alone the gold. India holds the records for the largest victory margin in an Olympic final (India 8 - Germany 1 in the 1936 Olympic final), the largest victory margin in a pool match (India 24 - USA 1 in the 1932 Olympics), and the largest number of consecutive victories (30 wins on the trot from 1928 to 1960).
So dominant was the Indian hockey team of old that it took 28 years for India to score only 1 goal in a match (India 1 - Germany 0 in the 1956 Olympic semi-final), and it took 40 years before a country scored more than one goal against India in the Olympics (New Zealand 2 - India 1 in the 1968 Olympics).
In men's hockey, India are currently title-holders of the Junior Asia Cup (2004), Asia Cup (2003), Afro-Asian Games (2003), Junior World Cup (2001) and the Sub-Junior Asia Cup (2001). In women's hockey, India are currently title-holders of the Asia Cup (2004), Afro-Asian Games (2003), Commonwealth Games (2002) and the Sub-Junior Asia Cup (2000).
Sansarpur, a tiny village on the outskirts of Jalandhar, has the distinction of producing 9 Olympians - Gurmit Singh (1932), Udham Singh (1952, '56, '60, '64), Gurdev Singh (1956), Darshan Singh (1964), Jagjit Singh (1964, '68), Balbir Singh - Services, Balbir Singh - Punjab and Tarsem Singh (1968), and the World Cup winning captain Ajitpal Singh (1968, '72, '76).
The most common surname among Indian hockey players is Singh. As a foreign journalist wrote in his dispatch, "Singh initiated the move. After dodging past a defender, Singh passed the ball to Singh, who centered it to Singh and Singh scored the goal with a reverse flick."
Within the community of Singhs, the name Balbir has a glorious record in Indian hockey. Six Balbir Singhs did duty for India - Balbir Singh (Sr.), Balbir Singh (Jr.), Balbir Singh (Punjab), Balbir Singh (Services), Balbir Singh (Railways) and Balbir Singh (Navy). Between them, they represented India in 5 Olympic Games (winning 4 Golds and 3 Bronzes) and 2 Asian Games (winning 3 Golds and 2 Silvers).
Kodagu (mispronounced as Coorg by the British) is the hockey hotbed of Karnataka. It hosts the annual Kodava Hockey Festival, the largest family sports tournament in the world. Every year, the tournament takes on a different name and is held in a different town, based on the family that is organizing it. Each team is made up of members of only one, blood-related family. Women can also participate; they have the choice of representing either their paternal side or maternal side. The 2003 tournament saw the participation of 281 family teams.
5 pairs of brothers have done duty for India in the Olympics. The most famous pair was that of Dhyan Chand (1928, '32, '36) and Roop Singh (1932, '36). Of the remaining four pairs, 2 pairs played for India in the same Olympics - Balbir Singh (Railways) and Gurbux Singh (1968), and Harmeek Singh (1968, '72) and Ajit Singh (1972, '76). The pair of brothers to represent India over separate Olympics are V. J. Peters (1960, '64, '68) and V. J. Philips (1972, '76), and Vivek Singh (1992) and Rahul Singh (1996).
Father-son pairs to have represented India include Dhyan Chand - Ashok Kumar, Ahmad Sher Khan - Aslam Sher Khan, Leslie Claudius - Robert Claudius and Ajeet Singh - Gagan Ajeet Singh.
India has not done very well in the elite Champions Trophy. In the 25 times that this event has been held, India has qualified for this premier event only 9 times, has never won the title, and has finished last twice. India has lost more than 50% of its matches played in the Champions Trophy.
India's best come-from-behind performance was in the 1985 Champions Trophy, in their match against Germany at Perth. India were trailing 1-5. Pargat Singh rose to the ocassion with two goals, including a solo goal starting right from the Indian defence. Still trailing 4-5, India managed to score a goal with only 20 seconds left, to snatch a thrilling 5-5 draw.
The 1936 Indian Olympic hockey team, captained by Dhyan Chand