Kolkata: August 12 remains one of the most celebrated days in the history of Indian Sports. On this day 72 years ago, one sweet victory was made which continues to inspire millions. The year was 1948, and the event was the London Olympics where India won its first Olympic gold as an independent nation defeating Great Britain 4-0 in the final.
For the first time, the British stood up to honour the national anthem of the country they ruled for 200 years but were forced to free in 1947. Earlier, India had won three consecutive Olympic hockey gold medals in 1928, 1932 and 1936 but that was during the British reign.
Under the captaincy of Kishan Lal, India went on to beat the likes of Austria, Argentina and Spain in the group stages before strolling past The Netherlands in the semifinals. Balbir Singh was the architect in the final scoring a brace.
Besides Balbir and captain Kishan, the 1948 full squad had legends – Leslie Claudius, Keshav Dutt, Digvijay Singh Babu, Walter D’Souza, Lawrie Fernandes, Ranganathan Francis, Gerry Glackan, Akhtar Hussain, Patrick Jansen, Amir Kumar, Kishan Lal, Leo Pinto, Jaswant Singh Rajput, Randhir Singh, Latif-ur-Rehman, Reginald Rodrigues, Gentle Grahanandan Singh, K D Singh, and Trilochan Singh Maxie Vaz.
Out of 20 members of the squad, only Dutt is alive today. Balbir passed away at the age of 96 on March 25, 2020. But the legacy left behind by the legendary 1948 squad will be cherished forever.
In an interview with the TOI in 2018, the legend shared his experience about the 1948 Olympics, “The Tiranga rose up slowly. With our National Anthem being played, my freedom fighter father’s words ‘Our flag, Our Country’ came flooding back. I finally understood what he meant. I felt rising off the ground alongside the fluttering Tiranga.”
Very nice report, Madam.
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