Golden memories of India's victory in the 1975 Hockey World Cup

- Hoping to complete the 47-year wait to become a champion in the Hockey World Cup that started at home

- Sports Funda-Ramakrishna Pandit

- In the history of Indian sports, international success in cricket is very rare compared to the global achievements of hockey, but hockey could not get a savior like Jagmohan Dalmiya.

- The Indian team under the captaincy of Ajit Pal Singh won the 1975 World Cup by defeating Pakistan in the final, with Major Dhyan Chand's son Ashok Kumar scoring the winning goal.

The grandeur of the past is like a monument to the toil of the ancestors. Which continuously inspires the new generation to move forward and achieve new heights. Until new heights of achievement are achieved, the currency of the old is gold adage remains wide open. When a world record is broken in the world of sports, the world gets a new champion, along with it, every athlete in the world gets a new challenge. Which plays a fundamental role in raising the human ability score.

India is the birthplace of hockey and the past records are a testament to India's golden era in world hockey. However, once the people of Windies adopted cricket, they suddenly gave up the bat and ball and due to this their downfall in cricket. Similarly, India's attachment to hockey and its popularity has grown so much that India's weight in the world's major hockey tournaments has not been the same as before. However, last year in Tokyo, the Indian men's hockey team created history by winning a medal after 41 years. Now that the Hockey World Cup has started at home, Indian hockey fans are dreaming of winning the World Cup again after 47 years.

Not just hockey, India's 1975 World Cup victory is seen as a golden start in Indian sports history as a whole.

When it was almost three decades after independence, the hockey players made a noise around the world by giving India the first world victory. The crowning glory of the Indian hockey team, which is the dominant force in the history of international Olympic hockey, lacked the gold medal of the only World Cup victory until 1975. In the Hockey World Cup that started in 1971, India won medals twice, but missed out on gold. Pakistan's hockey team was also dominant at that time and India lost to Pakistan in the semi-finals of the 1971 World Cup and the team won the bronze medal. Although in the World Cup two years later, India evened the score by defeating Pakistan in the semi-finals, India won the silver medal after losing to the Netherlands in a penalty shootout in the final.

The 1975 World Cup was beyond AR for India's golden generation who narrowly missed out on a gold medal. Ajit Pal Singh was entrusted with the captaincy of the Indian team in the third Men's Hockey World Cup held in Malaysia in the month of March. Ashok Kumar, son of hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand, was included in the team at the last minute. They knew that this was their first and last chance to win the World Cup. Additionally, three-time gold medalist Balbir Singh Dosaji, better known in Indian hockey as Balbil Singh Sr., was appointed as the coach of the Indian team.

Balbir Singh Sr instilled confidence in the Indian hockey team to win the World Cup. He gave a new slogan 'Jo Bole So Hai, Bharat Mata Ki Jai' to inspire the players. His formula created a miracle. Indian players used to enter the field chanting this slogan before every match. India started the World Cup with a bang, beating England 2-1 and Ghana 7-0. Although the match against Australia was drawn 1-1, India had to face a 1-2 defeat against Argentina. Now India's final league match was against West Germany and if there was a loss or a draw then India could be thrown out.

The team under the captaincy of captain Ajit Pal Singh showed a strong performance in the Kharakhari match, winning 3-1 against West Germany and entering the semi-finals of the third consecutive Hockey World Cup. With India's victory, the Indian fans present in the stadium rushed to the ground and congratulated the players. Now in the semi-final, India faced host Malaysia. It was a historic occasion for Malaysia as they entered the finals for the first time.

A large number of local players reached the stadium to cheer on the Malaysian team in the semi-final against India. Indians in Malaysia also reached the stadium hoping for India's victory. The semi-final started amid heavy rain but had to be abandoned after nine minutes of play and was replayed the next day. Malaysia took the lead twice in the match and took a 2-1 lead. At that time, Surjit Singh and Michael Kindo stood as an impenetrable wall in the Indian defence. With barely seven minutes left in the match, coach Balbil Singh Sr. brought on penalty corner specialist Aslam Sher Khan in place of Kindo and within two minutes of coming on, he converted a penalty corner to level the match. India's hopes of winning the World Cup came alive with this. The tired legs of the players seemed to have renewed vigor and playing with a determination not to go without a win, Harcharan Singh took advantage of a sloppy Malaysian defense in extra time to give India a 3-2 lead, which ultimately proved decisive and India entered the final again. And now there was Pakistan.

The final of the Hockey World Cup was not only a match for the Indian players, but also a frenzy. Due to the final against Pakistan, immense pressure was created on the players and excitement spread in the hearts of crores of Indian fans. At that time, Indian players went to temples, mosques and temples in Malaysia and prayed to win the World Cup. Despite being a Sikh, Balbil Singh Sr went to the mosque with drag flickr Aslam Sher Khan. Pakistan team was also present there. They also showed disrespect towards Balbir Singh. Aslam Sher Khan then accompanied Balbir Singh to the Gurdwara to pray and seek blessings for India's victory.

Finally, the day of the final arrived and India and Pakistan faced each other on the field. Millions of fans in India enjoyed the Kante Ki Takkar-like encounter between two of the best hockey talent of the time with the help of radio commentary. Around 50 thousand fans watched this match live. Pakistan was given the lead by Zahid Sheikh in the beginning. After which Sardar Surjit Singh brought India to parity. As the match drew to a close with both teams desperately trying to win, the breath of the fans listening to the radio commentary began to pick up. Finally, when Ashok Kumar, the son of hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand, scored a goal in the very last minutes, the whole of India rose up. Despite Pakistan's quick comeback in the match, India maintained the lead and India eventually won their first ever Hockey World Cup. The day of 15th March 1975 is engraved in golden letters in Indian hockey.

After the historic victory, a wave of happiness ran across India along with the Indian players. A national holiday was declared in India on the day of the final. In Malaysia too, Indians celebrated the World Cup victory with hockey players.

India's world-winning team reached Singapore from Malaysia, where the players shopped and Indians gave the team a grand welcome. After this, after arriving in Chennai, the Indian team reached to meet the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and other dignitaries along with the World Cup. Wherever the players went, they were warmly welcomed with drumming. Raj Kapoor also organized an exhibition match of the World Cup winning team with Bollywood players. This dream team of India played 10 exhibition matches and the victory celebration lasted for fifteen days.

This historic victory of India remains the only one in hockey history even today. After hockey, cricket made India the world champion, but Indian cricket could not get a savior like Jagmohan Dalmiya. Now that the Hockey World Cup has begun in Odisha's Bhubaneswar, Indian fans are hoping to end their 47-year wait for a World Cup victory.