Kolkata: The Indian men’s hockey team made history by defeating Germany 5-4 to win bronze at the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics, ending a 41-year medal drought. India last won an Olympic medal in hockey in 1980 at the Moscow Olympics. However, the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico marked the beginning of a dramatic power shift wherein, country earned bronze on this day 53 years ago.
India seemed sure to retain their Olympic gold with three to four players available for each position and the team’s potential was undeniable after defeating Pakistan to win the Asian Games gold in Bangkok in 1966. However, the Indian Hockey Federation’s (IHF) choice to appoint the seasoned Prithipal Singh as the Olympic-bound team’s captain did not sit well with the players.
With Gurbux Singh leading India for the majority of the Olympic cycle, the team was split and forced forced IHF to name joint-captains for the Olympics for the first time in the team’s history just ahead of the Games.
The rift, however, had a significant impact on team morale, as evidenced by India’s performance at the Games. The Indian hockey team got off to a bad start against New Zealand in the opening game, losing its first-ever game in the Olympic group round.
After being shaken by the outcome, the team quickly gathered itself and won back-to-back games to advance to the semi-finals. Despite spending adequate time in the Nilgiris, a high-altitude region in South India, prior to the Olympics to prepare for the geographic shift in Mexico City, the team’s performance was far from convincing.
And in the mean time, the Aussies tweaked their gameplan to frustrate the Indian hockey team and force them into making mistakes at the semi finals encounter. India fell into the trap set by Australia by allowing their opponents to create openings at will and threaten the Indian goal. This cost the squad dearly, as Australia, won the match in extra time to go to the first-ever final. For the first time, India was relegated to the bronze medal playoff match.
After losing in the semi-finals, the Indian hockey team came out blazing in the play-off, defeating West Germany 2-1 to take bronze. “We could only win the bronze,” Muneer Sait summed up. “This remains my biggest disappointment.”
Pakistan won the gold medal in the 1968 Olympic hockey final, defeating Australia 2-1 to win the title for the second time at the Games.
India has won eight gold medals in total, in 1928, 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1964, and 1980. In 1960, country won a silver medal, and three bronze medals in 1968, 1972, and 2020.
