Indian National Hockey team includes the Indian Men`s Hockey team and the Indian Women`s Hockey team. India is counted among the top Hockey playing nations in the world, given that its national team has played extremely well in the international arena, during the last several decades. While, the Indian Men`s Hockey team has earned most of the honour and glory for the country, the Indian Women`s Hockey team has also showed wonderful performances in the international arena, in recent years.
Indian Women`s National Hockey Team
Indian Women`s National Hockey Team is ranked tenth in the FIH (field hockey) World Rankings. Their best performance was in the Olympic Games of 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics. They also won Gold medal at the opening 1982 Asian Games held in New Delhi. The team qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics, first time since the 1980 Summer Olympics. During the 2001 Women`s Hockey World Cup Qualifier, the team ranked seventh and Sanggai Chanu received the "Young Player of the Tournament" award. The team has won 2 gold medals in Hockey Asia Cup, 1 gold medal in Asian Games, 1 gold medal in Asian Hockey Champions Trophy and in Commonwealth Games along with many other records. Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam is the current captain of Indian Women`s national hockey team.
Indian Men`s National Hockey Team
Indian Men`s National Hockey Team was the first non-European team to be a part of the International Hockey Federation. In 1928, the team won its first Olympic gold medal and until 1956, the India men`s team remained victorious in the Olympics, winning six gold medals in a row. In 2016, the Indian men`s team won its first ever silver medal in Champions Trophy tournament in opposition to Australia. Indian Men`s National Hockey Team is the most victorious team ever in Olympics, having won eight Olympics gold medals till date. Manpreet Singh is the current captain of Indian Men`s National Hockey Team.
Performance of Indian National Hockey Team
India received recognition as a Hockey powerhouse for the first time in 1928 Olympic Games, when the Indian Men`s Hockey team clinched the Gold medal, without losing a single match. The Indian National Hockey team then continued its dominance all over the other Hockey playing nations for a long period. In total, Indian Men`s Hockey team has still won the highest number of Gold medals at Olympics amongst all the national teams. From 1928 to 1980, India was never lower than in the top three, except at the 1976 National Olympics. On the other hand, Indian Women`s Hockey team has only recently earned considerable amount of recognition in the international arena.
Medal List of Indian National Hockey Team
Following is the list of medals of Indian National Hockey Team:
•8 Gold and 1 Silver in Olympics with 2 Bronze.
•1 Gold and 1 Silver with 1 Bronze in World Cup.
•2 Bronze in FIH Hockey World League.
•1 Silver and 1 Bronze in Hockey Champions Trophy.
•2 Silver in Commonwealth Games.
•3 Gold in Asian Games.
•3 Gold in Asia Cup and 5 Silver with 1 Bronze.
•2 Gold in Asian Hockey Champions Trophy and 1 Silver.
Apart from this Indian National Hockey Team has won several medals in international tournaments like the title of Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, Hockey Champions Challenge, Afro-Asian Games, and South Asian Games.
