mcgillianaire | A Trip Down Memory Lane... (Reply)

"The 13 member Indian team for the 1928 Olympics (with 3 students joining in London) set sail on March 10, 1928 from Mumbai to London. The Indian team landed at the Tilbury docks near London on March 10, 1928, en route to Amsterdam. After witnessing the Indian jugglers’ game in the Folkstone Hockey Festival, defending champions England, gold winners at the 1908 and 1920 Olympics, lost their enthusiasm. The English decided to withdraw from the Olympics to avoid defeat at the hands of a 'subject' people. Britain never played India as long as the latter remained its colony. :)

The ten-day hockey competition in the Amsterdam Games was held in May, two months before the rest of the Olympic events. India made its debut in the Olympic Games on May 17, 1928, beating Austria 6-0. India went on to beat Belgium 9-0, Denmark 5-0 and Switzerland 6-0 in the semi-finals to set up the title clash against Holland. The finals, held on May 26, 1928, aroused tremendous interest. Nearly 24,000 spectators, till then the biggest crowd for a hockey match, saw the game. India beat Holland 3-0 to win its first ever Olympic gold medal, and its first ever victory in a world tournament. On May 29, when the prize giving ceremony was held at the Olympic Stadium, and Eric Pinniger lead the team to the victory stand, this marked the first time that a team from Asia had won any medal in the Olympics.

Richard James Allen did not concede a single goal in the 1928 Olympics. Allen, who kept India's goal in 3 consecutive Olympics (1928, 1932, 1936), conceded a total of only 3 goals in the 3 Olympics and won 3 gold medals. The Amsterdam Games marked the debut of the 'Hockey Wizard' Dhyan Chand, who was the favourite of all at the Amsterdam Games, dazzling spectators and critics alike. An awe-struck Dutch journalist wrote 'The Indian ball seems ignorant of the laws of gravity. One of those tanned diabolical jugglers stares at the ball intently; it gets upright and remains suspended in the air. This is no longer the game of hockey. It is a juggling turn. It is splendid.' The Indian team's performance revived interest in hockey, and overnight it became a world sport."