Indian hockey recently crossed the age of 100 and the event was celebrated in a grand function in New Delhi. The Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) was formed on November 7, 1925 in Gwalior and thereafter Indian teams began competing in international events. Rising quickly, India soon became the dominant force in world hockey and from then, Indian hockey has created a legacy that the nation can be proud of.After the formation of the IHF, India was the first non-European team to be a part of the international federation of hockey.
The formation of the IHF was a landmark event because it enabled international exposure for talented Indian players.
In 1926, the IHF organised India’s first international tour – a trip to New Zealand. The Indian players immediately made their mark. India ended the tour with 18 victories in 21 matches, and just one defeat. They scored a total of 192 goals, conceding 24, at an average of 9.31 goals per match. Astonishingly, the Indians registered a double-digit score in as many as nine games.
It was during this tour of New Zealand that the world came to know about a player called Dhyan Chand who soon assumed a god-like status in the game. What Sachin Tendulkar was in cricket, Dhyan Chand was in hockey.
Dhyan Chand’s reaction
At the time, Dhyan Chand was an ordinary sepoy in the British Indian army. About being selected for the first ever foreign tour, Dhyan Chand has written: “It was a great day for me when my Commanding Officer called me to his office and told me that I had been selected. I was dumbfounded, and did not know what to say. All I did was give a salute and retreat. Once out of sight of the officer, I ran to my barracks and communicated the good news to my fellow soldiers. And what a reception they gave me !”
“I was not a rich man, my earnings as a sepoy were meagre. I clothed myself as inexpensively as possible, and my main item was my military uniform and kit.”
“But the trip was a great experience for all of us. Prior to this tour, we soldiers could never conceive of being feted and entertained at public functions. We felt like heroes, and on my part, if I may put it modestly, I achieved some success and made a good impression.”
Indian team was unbeatable
Absorbed with cricket, we often forget India’s wonderful achievements in hockey. In 1928, India won its first Olympic gold medal and until 1960, the Indian men’s team remained unbeaten at the Olympics, winning six gold medals in a row. We had a 30–0 winning streak during this time, from the first game in 1928 until the 1960 gold medal final which we lost. India also won the World Cup in 1975.
India also has the best overall performance in Olympic history with 87 victories out of the 142 matches played. We have scored more goals in the Olympics than any other team. Ours is also the only team ever to win the Olympics without conceding a single goal, having done so in 1928 and 1956.
The men in blue are also one of the most successful teams in Asia. They have won the Asian Games four times – in 1966, 1998, 2014 and 2022. India came out on top at the Asia Cup in 2003, 2007 and in 2017. India has won 43 out of 56 matches in the Asia Cup and holds the records for most wins and best winning percentage in the competition.
Our team was the most successful team in the Asian Champions Trophy, winning the competition a record five times, namely in 2011, 2016, 2018, 2023, and 2024. In total, India has won 30 official international titles.
Among the top scorers in history
Two out of the top five goal scorers in history are Indians.
Here are the top five goal scorers in history: Dhyan Chand stands head and shoulders above everyone else with 570 goals. Sohail Abbas of Pakistan is next with 348 goals. He is followed by Paul Litjens of the Netherlands with 268. Then, in 4th place comes Balbir Singh Dosanjh with 246. And fifth is Greg Nicol of South Africa with 245.
In international sport, where records are broken every two or three years, the record established by Balbir Singh Dosanjh in 1952 – that of scoring five goals in a single match, that too in the final of the Olympic Games – remains unbroken after more than seven decades. Such is India’s dominance of this game.
India has achieved a hat-trick of gold medals in the Olympic Games twice. Although it is now a fact that the flow of gold medals at the Olympic level has dried up, nevertheless, Indian hockey has set a standard that is unmatched by any other nation in the world.
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