The Indian men’s hockey team created history when they won their 12th medal in a sport that India dominated like no other country.
But the big number is not 12, but 41. The bronze at the Tokyo Olympics is India’s first medal in hockey in 41 years. The last time India were on the podium were the 1980 Moscow Games, where India won gold in a limited field
Since then, it has been decades of disappointment for Indian hockey as they struggled to match the world on the AstroTurf. The lowest point was the team not even being able to qualify for the 2008 Games.
History has been rewritten: Reactions to Indian men’s hockey team winning bronze at Tokyo 2020
But the progress since then has been steady, if slow given the expectations. At the next edition, London 2012, Indian men finished last in the competition. At Rio 2016, they were placed eighth.
Five years later, India, now ranked fourth in the world, are back on the podium again.
India's field hockey medals at Olympic Games
| Venue | Year | Medal | Captain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam | 1928 | Gold | Jaipal Singh |
| Los Angeles | 1932 | Gold | Lal Shah Bokhari |
| Berlin | 1936 | Gold | Dhyan Chand |
| London | 1948 | Gold | Kishan Lal |
| Helsinki | 1952 | Gold | KD Singh ‘Babu’ |
| Melbourne | 1956 | Gold | Balbir Singh Sr |
| Rome | 1960 | Silver | Leslie Claudius |
| Tokyo | 1964 | Gold | Charanjit Singh |
| Mexico | 1968 | Bronze | Prithipal SinghGurbux Singh |
| Munich | 1972 | Bronze | Harmik Singh |
| Moscow | 1980 | Gold | Vasudevan Baskaran |
| Tokyo | 2021 | Bronze | Manpreet Singh |
Also read – Pause, rewind, play: 1928-1956 – A brief history of Indian hockey’s golden era at the Olympics
Grouped along with the defending Olympic Champions Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Spain and Japan, India’s finished second in Pool A to book spot in the quarter-final. They then beat Great Britain to set up a semi-final against world champions Belgium.
They lost the match but kept the hope for bronze alive and achieved it with a thrilling 5-4 win over Germany – a team that has finished on the podium at the last three Olympics.
Most field hockey medals in men's hockey
| Team | Winners | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | 8 (1928, 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1964, 1980) | 1 (1960) | 3 (1968, 1972, 2021) | |
| Germany | 4 (1972, 1992, 2008, 2012) | 3 (1936, 1984, 1988) | 4 (1928, 1956, 2004, 2016) | 2 (1968, 1996) |
| Pakistan | 3 (1960, 1968, 1984) | 3 (1956, 1964, 1972) | 2 (1976, 1992) | 3 (1948, 1952, 2000) |
| Great Britain | 3 (1908*, 1920, 1988) | 2 (1908*, 1948) | 4 (1908*, 1908*, 1952, 1984) | 3 (1956, 1960, 2012*) |
| Netherlands | 2 (1996, 2000) | 4 (1928*, 1962, 2004, 2012) | 3 (1936, 1948, 1988) | 5 (1972, 1976, 1992, 2008, 2016) |
| Australia | 1 (2004) | 3 (1968, 1976, 1992) | 5 (1964, 1996, 2000*, 2008, 2012) | 2 (1984, 1988) |
| New Zealand | 1 (1976) | |||
| Argentina | 1 (2016) |
This was a win years in the making. In the last few years, the Indian team has achieved important milestones, including winning the Asia Cup in 2017, claiming the Asian Champions Trophy in 2018 as well as winning the FIH Series Final in 2019 over the past four years. India also reached the quarterfinals of the 2018 World Cup in Bhubaneswar and performed exceedingly well in the FIH Hockey Pro League under Manpreet before the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the schedule.
Also read – Meet the Indian men’s hockey squad that ended the 41-year-old medal drought