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1928 Games: Champions India did not concede a goal

Bangalore, Jul 13: Here we take a brief look at the hockey tournaments played at the previous Olympics, starting from 1908, the first ever time the sport was played at the mega event. The Olympics featured only the men's hockey at that time. After the 1908 and 1920 editions, hockey featured again in the 1928 edition and continued ever since.

1928 Amsterdam Olympics
The matches were played in the Olympisch Satdion and the Old Stadion. Nine teams competed in the tournament after Czechoslovakia pulled out. The teams were divided into two divisions, the first comprising five and the second four teams. The eventual champions, (British) India, were the only non-European team in the competition.

Division A had India, Belgium, Denmark, Austria and Switzerland while Division B featured the Netherlands, Germany, France and Spain.

Winner:

India defeated the Netherlands 3-0 to win its first hockey gold. Germany beat Belgium 3-0 to finish third.

India's results:
India's terrific show was evident from the fact that it did not concede a single goal in the entire tournament while scored 29. Dhyan Chand scored 14 goals. India beat Austria 6-0, Belgium 9-0, Denmark 5-0 and Switzerland 6-0 in the group stages. In the final, they beat the Netherlands, the first-placed team in Division B, 3-0 in the final. After India's 26 goals, it was Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany with 8 goals each as the distant second-highest scorers.

Some facts from the 1928 Games:
1. India's first-ever Olympic was marred by a captaincy controversy. The naming of Jaipal Singh, an Oxford student, did not impress the Anglo-Indian players in the squad and the discontent reached such a level that Singh walked out of the team.
2. A massive crowd welcomed the Indian outfit back home, a scene absolutely opposite to what it was when the team had left for the Games. Just three people came to see them off.

Next: India win 1932 Games

OneIndia News

Story first published: Tuesday, August 8, 2017, 10:59 [IST]
Other articles published on Aug 8, 2017