Indian Men"s Hockey Team was the first non-European team to be a part of the International Hockey Federation. It has consistently performed with distinction and without any recognition in several international tournaments. Indian Men"s Hockey Team has earned a lot of recognition and brought glory to the nation.
History of Indian Men`s Hockey Team
India has a rich history of Hockey in the world for years. The team was founded in 1928 and it was the first non-European team to be a part of the International Hockey Federation (FIH). In 1928, the team won its first Olympic gold medal and until 1956, the Indian men`s team remained winning in the Olympics by winning six gold medals in a row.
After the extraordinary performance in the 1928 Olympic Games, Indian Men`s Hockey team became famous all over the world. The team continued its wonderful run in the Olympics for a long period and won six straight Olympic Gold medals from 1928 to 1956. During this period, the team won 24 matches in Olympics and conceded only 7 goals. However, this extraordinary run came to an end in the 1960 Olympic Games, when it was defeated by the Pakistan team in the finals. The Indian team`s performance in the Olympic Games never got even closer to that of the golden era again and it won only two Olympic. The team had a winning line during this time, from their first game until losing in the 1960 gold medal final. India also won the 1975 World Cup.
Apart from the Olympic Games, the Indian team has shown its expertise in some other prestigious international Hockey tournaments, as well. The Indian team has participated and played well in the tournaments like the World Cup, Asian Games, Asia Cup, Champions Trophy, Champions Challenge, Commonwealth Games, Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament etc. It won several medals and trophies from these tournaments so far.
Prominent Indian Male Hockey Players
India has produced numerous legendary Hockey players, who have stunned the world of Hockey with their extraordinary talent. Some of the legendary Indian Hockey players include Dhyan Chand, Udham Singh, Balbir Singh Sr., Adam Sinclair, Adrian D Souza, Ajit Pal Singh, Arjun Halappa, Baljit Singh Dhillon, Bir Bahadur Chettri, Dhanraj Pillay, K. D. Singh, Dilip Tirkey, Leslie Claudius, Akashdeep Singh, Bharat Chettri, Birendra Lakra, Chinglensana Singh Kangujam, Gurvinder Singh Chandi, Manpreet Singh, Sandeep Singh, Tushar Khandker etc.
Present Indian Men`s Hockey Team
Players who are part of the 33-member core squad for 2018 are as follows:
•Akash Chikte
•Suraj Karkera
•P. R. Sreejesh
•Krishan Pathak
•Harmanpreet Singh
•Rupinder Pal Singh
•Gurinder Singh
•Surender Kumar
•Dipsan Tirkey
•Varun Kumar
•Nilam Sanjeep Xess
•Birendra Lakra
•Amit Rohidas
•Kothajit Singh
•Manpreet Singh
•Sardar Singh
•Simranjeet Singh
•S. K. Uthappa
•Sumit
•Nilakanta Sharma
•Harjeet Singh
•Satbir Singh
•Chinglensana Singh
•Gurjant Singh
•Armaan Qureshi
•Mandeep Singh
•Lalit Upadhyay
•Talwinder Singh
•S. V. Sunil
•Akashdeep Singh
•Sumit Kumar
•Affan Yousuf
•Ramandeep Singh
Harendra Singh is the head coach of the Indian Men`s Hockey Team and Jugraj Singhand and Arjun Halappa are the assistant coaches.
Medals Table of Indian Men`s Hockey Team
Indian Men`s Hockey Team has won 8 gold medals, 1 silver and 2 bronze medal in Olympics. In World Cup, the team has won 1 gold medal 1 silver and 1 bronze. In FIH Hockey World League, the team has won 2 bronze medals. In Hockey Champions Trophy team has won 1 silver and 1 bronze.
In Commonwealth Games, Indian Men`s Hockey Team has won 2 silver medals. In Asian Games, the team has won 3 gold, 9 silver and 2 bronze. In Asia Cup, the team has won 3 gold, 5 silver and 1 bronze and in Asian Hockey Champions Trophy, the team has won 2 gold and 1 silver medals. In South Asian Games, Indian Men`s Hockey Team has won 1 gold and 3 silver medals. In Afro-Asian Games, the team has won 1 gold and in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, the team has won 5 gold, 2 silver and 7 bronze.
