The Indian hockey team has dominated the Olympics since its inception. Hockey has been the only sport in which India has consistently performed brilliantly. In India's Olympic history, this sport has won the most medals (12). This includes 8 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze medals. India won 6 gold medals in 8 editions between 1928 and 1956. Now it has been 44 years since the team won gold in this sport, which the Indian team achieved in the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Let us know the story of that Olympics, when the young players of India made the country proud by winning the gold medal in hockey for the last time.

Only hockey did wonders in Moscow

A total of 76 athletes from India participated in 8 sports in the Moscow Olympics. Be it shooting, wrestling, boxing or weightlifting, Indian athletes failed everywhere in the Moscow Olympics. Most of the players were eliminated in the first or second round. No player was able to win a medal for India, then the young players of the Indian hockey team did a great job. They won the only medal for India by defeating Spain in the final.

India regained its lost glory

The Indian hockey team has a golden history in the Olympics. The team had earlier achieved a hat-trick of gold medals in 1928, 1932 and 1936. After the independence of the country, this series started again and the hockey team again achieved a hat-trick of gold medals in the 1948, 1952 and 1956 editions. However, in 1960, Pakistan broke this series of India and then India had to settle for silver after losing in the final. In 1964, India took its revenge by defeating Pakistan and once again won the gold medal.

The Indian hockey team has won 8 gold medals in the Olympics.

After this, the Indian team went off track. As a result, the team saw its worst phase in the 1968, 1972 and 1976 Olympics. While the team could only reach the bronze medal in 1968 and 1972, it finished at seventh place in 1976. After 12 years, the Indian hockey team regained its pride by winning the gold in Moscow. In the final, India won its 8th gold medal by defeating the strongest team of the tournament, Spain, 4-3. However, the sad thing was that after this hockey in India declined and it had to wait for 41 years for the next medal, while the gold medal is still awaited.

The Army Chief inspired the youth

Young players were given a chance in the Indian hockey team for the 1980 Olympics. They did not have experience of international matches and especially big events like the Olympics. Former Indian captain Zafar Iqbal, current captain Vasudev Bhaskaran, Mervin Fernandes, MM Soumaiya and Bir Bahadur Chhetri were the only 4 players who had experience of playing against foreign teams. Therefore, Captain Bhaskaran made a plan to inspire the youth. He organized a pre-Olympic camp in Bangalore and invited the then Army Chief Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw for it. The Army Chief met the young players twice and inspired them with his speech, the effect of which was seen in the Olympics.

Here is the turning point

Initially, 12 teams were to participate in the 1980 Moscow Olympics. However, later it was reduced to 6 teams, which were divided into two groups. India, Spain, Poland, Cuba, Tanzania and the host country Soviet Union were part of it. India defeated Tanzania 18-0 in its group and played a 2-2 draw against Poland. Despite this, captain Bhaskaran was worried because the team missed many chances against Poland. However, the team's confidence returned after playing a 2-2 draw against Spain, one of the strongest teams of the tournament.

According to captain Bhaskaran, this was the turning point for the team. After this, India entered the semi-finals by defeating Cuba 13-0 and then defeated Russia to make it to the finals. In the semi-finals, Bhaskaran had made a different tactic against the Soviet Union. He was looking for an alternative for penalty corners. For this, he took the help of video footage.

Defeated Spain in a thrilling match

The final match was not easy for the Indian team. The entire stadium was full of spectators and the team was carrying the burden of medal expectations. However, the team started well and midfielder Surinder Singh Sodhi scored two goals by half time to put them in a strong position. While as soon as the second half started, MK Kaushik scored another goal. This match now seemed easy, but then Spain retaliated. Spain scored two goals within two minutes, bringing the score to 3-2.

After this, Captain Bhaskaran made a move. He brought Mohammad Shahid on the field from center forward and this trick worked. Shahid scored the fourth goal for India, which proved to be the most important goal of the match. In the last minute of the match, the Spanish captain scored the third goal and scored a hat-trick, but could not stop India from winning the match. In the end, India won this match 4-3.