ndia got its independence, but suffered a devastating partition, where many Anglo-Indians left the country and a number of Muslims migrated to Pakistan. India lost a rich recruiting ground for hockey talent. A brand new Indian team left for London, without a single player who had played in an earlier Olympics. The captain of the Pakistan hockey team in the 1948 Olympics was A. I. S. Dara who had represented India in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Besides Dara, Paul Peter Fernandes and Bhopal`s Akhtar Hussain and Latif-ur-Rehman, have represented both India and Pakistan in the Olympics.

India defeated Austria 8-0 in their first match. India followed up this victory by defeating Argentina 9-1, Spain 2-0, and Holland 2-1 to enter the finals. India faced England for the first time in an Olympic hockey match on September 12, 1948, at Wembley grounds, in the Olympic hockey final. India defeated Britain 4-0 to win its fourth consecutive gold medal. This medal is extremely special for India, as it is the first gold medal won by India under the Indian tricolour. Balbir Singh Sr.excelled as a centre-forward and scored 2 goals for India, while Pat Jansen and Trilochan Singh scored the other two.

India`s in the 1948 Olympics at London :

  • Played: 5

  • Won: 5

  • Goals For: 25

  • Goals Against: 2
  • 1 comments:

    Those were the golden period of Indian Hockey when Dhyan Chand was there. So many people still remembers his contribution to the game and Indian pride. Thanks for sharing this wonderful article. Neha Parikar

    June 10, 2021 at 4:57 PM