India at Tokyo Olympics – Indian Hockey Team at Olympics: India is the most successful team ever in Field Hockey at Olympics, with 11 medals in total, including eight gold medals. From 1928 to 1956, India won six consecutive gold medals, which is a record even today. The golden era of Indian hockey ended with a gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Can India end 41 years wait for another medal ? Check all you want to know about Indian Hockey team at Olympics under Manpreet Singh, full squad, Tokyo Olympics Hockey Schedule, Indian Hockey team matches at Olympics, Indian Hockey History at Olympics, Tokyo Olympics Hockey LIVE Streaming details & all other details – All Tokyo Olympic Hockey Matches will be LIVE Streamed on SonyLIV in India & Follow them LIVE on InsideSport.co
India at Tokyo Olympics – Indian Hockey at Olympics: Can Manpreet Singh led Indian team deliver?
Indian Men’s Hockey Team at Olympics – At Tokyo 2020, the 16-member Indian team will be led by mid-fielder Manpreet Singh, who was the first Indian hockey player to be named the FIH men’s hockey player of the year – in 2019. The Indian team has done well under Manpreet’s captaincy over the past four years, having won the Asia Cup in 2017, the Asian Champions Trophy in 2018 and the FIH Series Final in 2019. They also reached the quarterfinals in the 2018 World Cup in Bhubaneswar.
This will be Manpreet’s third Olympic Games and he will have two deputies in defenders Birendra Lakra and Harmanpreet Singh. Harmanpreet made his senior India debut in 2015 and in the absence of skipper Manpreet in 2019, led the Indian team to a win at the FIH Olympic Test event in Tokyo. But the most interesting fact about this Indian squad is that out of the 16 players, as many as 10 players are going to feature in their maiden Olympics.
These 10 players are: Amit Rohidas, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Nilakanta Sharma, Sumit, Shamsher Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Gurjant Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay and Birendra Lakra. Birendra Lakra had missed the 2016 Rio Olympics due to a knee surgery. The Indian players would look to learn from the experience of defenders Rupinder Pal Singh and Surender Kumar and forward Mandeep Singh, who were also a part of the previous Indian Olympic squad in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
Indian Men’s Hockey Team at Olympics –
· Manpreet Singh (Captain)
· P.R. Sreejesh (Goalkeeper)
· Harmanpreet Singh (Defender)
· Rupinder Pal Singh (Defender)
· Surender Kumar (Defender)
· Amit Rohidas (Defender)
· Birendra Lakra (Defender)
· Hardik Singh (Midfielder)
· Vivek Sagar Prasad (Midfielder)
· Nilakanta Sharma (Midfielder)
· Sumit (Midfielder)
· Shamsher Singh (Forward)
· Dilpreet Singh (Forward)
· Gurjant Singh (Forward)
· Lalit Kumar Upadhyay (Forward)
· Mandeep Singh (Forward).
India Hockey Team at Olympics – India in Tough Group: The Indian men’s team has been clubbed alongside defending champion Argentina, three-time world champion, and current world No. 1 Australia, New Zealand, Spain and host Japan in Pool A. India will start their campaign with game against New Zealand.
Tokyo Olympics Hockey Schedule: Hockey at the Olympics is scheduled to take place from 24th July to 6th August. All Olympic Hockey Matches will be LIVE Streamed on SonyLIV in India & Follow them LIVE on InsideSport.co
India at Tokyo Olympics – Indian Hockey History at Olympics: Let’s have a look at all the 11 Olympics at which the Indian team won Olympics medals
1928 Amsterdam Olympics
It was the first appearance at the Olympics in the name of British India. The national icon Dhyan Chand, who is being talked about by people even today, was the star of India’s campaign. His hat-trick against the finalist Holland has a special place in history, getting India its first Olympic gold medal.
1932 Los Angeles Olympics
India took 42 days sea voyage to reach Los Angeles. The memorable moment for the team came when the scoreline read 24-1 against the host USA. India defeated Japan 11-1to clinch the consecutive gold medal. There were only three teams in the competition.
1936 Berlin Olympics
Dhyan Chand was the captain of the Indian team in this Olympics, and the Indian team comfortably won its third gold medal. India defeated hosts Germany with a margin of 8-1. However, it was in this Olympics, Hitler took notice of Dhyan Chand’s skills and offered him German citizenship.
1948 London Olympics
This was the first Olympics after 1940 and 1944 Olympics were cancelled due to World War. This was a historic Olympics for Indian hockey because Pakistan and India separated as independent nations, which meant the team which played in the Berlin Olympics was divided into two. In the final, there was a huge crowd of 25000 people in Wembley stadium. India defeated Great Britain 4-0 in the final to win the fourth consecutive gold medal, which happened to be the first gold medal for independent India.
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1952 Helsinki Olympics
This Olympics has 13 teams in the competition playing on a Knock-out basis. India continued its streak by winning the fifth consecutive gold medal in this Olympics. Balbir Singh scored nine goals out of 13 goals scored by India, and Captain Digvijay Singh was honored with the titles like ‘Best sportsman of Asia’ and ‘Best hockey player in the world.’
1956 Melbourne Olympics
Indian hockey contingent for this Olympics had some experienced players like Balbir Singh Sr, Leslie Claudius, Randhir Singh Gentle, and Ranganathan Francis playing their third Olympics. This competition had 12 teams divided into three groups. India ended their group stage matches with 36 goals, resulting in a Semi-final clash against Germany, where India won with a close margin of 1-0. Then, India had its arch-rivals Pakistan as the opponent in the finals. The finals happened at the Melbourne Cricket Ground(MCG), at which India defeated Pakistan 1-0, winning the sixth gold medal on the trot.
1960 Rome Olympics
With Balbir Singh Sr retired, Leslie Claudius, in his fourth Olympics, captained the side in this Olympics. India again had Pakistan as their opponent in the final, but they had 8 of their 11 players already played against India in the 1956 Olympics final. In the final, India suffered a shocking defeat 0-1 to Pakistan, ending their gold medal streak.
1964 Tokyo Olympics
With memories of the 1960 Olympics loss to Pakistan and the 1962 Asia cup loss to Pakistan, India was very determined to win a gold medal. Charanjit Singh was the captain of the side, taking the team easily through to the finals. India again squared up against Pakistan, which was regarded as rough finals where players from both sides were playing so roughly that umpires had to intervene. In the final, India won its seventh gold medal by defeating Pakistan thanks to Mohinder Lal’s penalty conversion, which was the only goal scored in the final.
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1968 Mexico Olympics
Hockey’s popularity was on the rise in both Europe and Asia. For the first time in the 8 Olympics, India did not reach the finals in this Olympics when they lost to Australia. Nevertheless, India went on to win a bronze medal by defeating Germany 3-1 in the third-place play-off.
1972 Munich Olympics
Only four members of the 1968 Olympics were part of this team. Harmik Singh was the captain of the side. Also, Vece Paes, the father of Leander Paes, was part of this team. India finished group stages unbeaten, which comprised of 7 teams. India was about to face Pakistan in the semi-final when tragedy stuck Olympics, which halted the game for two days when the Israeli team was attacked. The next day, India lost to Pakistan in the semi-final, and it is believed that the tragedy affected India’s rhythm. In the 3rd place play-off, they defeated Holland 2-1 to win a bronze medal.
1980 Moscow Olympics
After the bronze medal finish in 1968 and 1972 and more shocking 1976 Olympics, India came back strongly in this Olympics. It was only a 6-team competition in this Olympics after nine teams pulled out. India comfortably sailed through to the final and had set up a clash against Spain in the final. India defeated Spain 4-3 in the finals, clinching their eighth gold medal at Olympics. Unfortunately, this happened to be India’s last Olympics medal in Field Hockey
All Tokyo Olympic Hockey Matches will be LIVE Streamed on SonyLIV in India & Follow them LIVE on InsideSport.co
Editors pick
