With a medal at Tokyo Olympics: Re-live the 'Glory Days' of Indian men's hockey

<p>With exactly one month to go for the Tokyo Olympic Games, the Olympic fever is slowly engulfing the entire sporting world. While the Indian athletes carry out their high-octane practice sessions, it's time for the hockey fans relive the memories from the triumphant Olympic campaigns in the past through Hockey India's Flashback Series.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Former Indian Hockey Forward Gurdev Singh recalls the fond&nbsp;memories from the 1956 Olympics.</p>

<p>Gurdev Singh, who played an integral part in India's Gold Medal victory at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, reminisced playing alongside the great Balbir Singh Sr. The 87-year-old recounted that if Balbir Singh got into the D, he would definitely find the back of the net, "We played with five Forwards in that tournament. I scored 5 goals in the Olympics. We all used to practice a lot, but Balbir Singh Sr used to practice much more. Whenever he got into the D, he never missed the goal. He was a really good scorer."</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Former Indian Hockey Forward Gurdev Singh kicks off this campaign with his recollection of the 1956 Olympics.<br />
<br />
Read 👉 <a href="https://t.co/B5EToFpl2C">https://t.co/B5EToFpl2C</a><br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IndiaKaGame?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IndiaKaGame</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HaiTayyar?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HaiTayyar</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StrongerTogether?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StrongerTogether</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HockeyInvites?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HockeyInvites</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreTeamIndia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreTeamIndia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hockey?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Hockey</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/FIH_Hockey?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FIH_Hockey</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Olympics?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Olympics</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/WeAreTeamIndia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WeAreTeamIndia</a> <a href="https://t.co/SbtOXTOKl5">pic.twitter.com/SbtOXTOKl5</a></p>
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheHockeyIndia/status/1407606470154153986?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 23, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<p>The former India player added that during a non-Olympic match Balbir Singh Sr was in such good form that he scored every time he got the ball, "There was a match in which Balbir Singh got the ball four-five times and he converted each one of those chances into goals. Then he said, 'if you keep giving me the ball, then I'll keep scoring and keep playing for four-five years'.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/olympics-tokyo-2020-organisers-ban-alcohol-defend-allowing-spectators-393277" hreflang="en">Olympics-Tokyo 2020 organisers ban alcohol, defend allowing spectators</a></strong></p>

<p>When asked about his memories from the Melbourne Games, Gurdev said, "It was a very happy moment for us. We won all the matches in the 1956 Olympics. This was only the second time that no team had scored against India in the entire Olympics campaign. Our Captain Balbir Singh Sr's finger was broken during the tournament, but he still played for the team. At that time, wherever the Indian Hockey Team went, it always won."</p>

<p>The former India Hockey Forward also spoke about roaming around in Melbourne during the Olympics, "Australia is a great country. During our free time, the entire team went around Melbourne and saw some sights."</p>

<p>Winning an Olympic Medal is a huge achievement for any sportsperson, but the Indian team didn't receive a big reception once they arrived in India. With great pride, Gurdev said that it was normal for India to win a Gold in hockey in those days.</p>

<p>"When we came back from Melbourne with the Gold Medal, there were only three-four persons to receive us at the airport. Everyone expected us to win as it was quite normal for us to win Gold Medals in the Olympics," signed off Gurdev."</p>


With exactly one month to go for the Tokyo Olympic Games, the Olympic fever is slowly engulfing the entire sporting world. While the Indian athletes carry out their high-octane practice sessions, it's time for the hockey fans relive the memories from the triumphant Olympic campaigns in the past through Hockey India's Flashback Series.

With exactly one month to go for the Tokyo Olympic Games, the Olympic fever is slowly engulfing the entire sporting world. While the Indian athletes carry out their high-octane practice sessions, it's time for the hockey fans relive the memories from the triumphant Olympic campaigns in the past through Hockey India's Flashback Series. Former Indian Hockey Forward Gurdev Singh recalls the fond memories from the 1956 Olympics. Gurdev Singh, who played an integral part in India's Gold Medal victory at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, reminisced playing alongside the great Balbir Singh Sr. The 87-year-old recounted that if Balbir Singh got into the D, he would definitely find the back of the net, "We played with five Forwards in that tournament. I scored 5 goals in the Olympics. We all used to practice a lot, but Balbir Singh Sr used to practice much more. Whenever he got into the D, he never missed the goal. He was a really good scorer." Former Indian Hockey Forward Gurdev Singh kicks off this campaign with his recollection of the 1956 Olympics. Read 👉 https://t.co/B5EToFpl2C #IndiaKaGame #HaiTayyar #StrongerTogether #HockeyInvites #WeAreTeamIndia #Hockey @FIH_Hockey @Olympics @WeAreTeamIndia pic.twitter.com/SbtOXTOKl5 — Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) June 23, 2021 × The former India player added that during a non-Olympic match Balbir Singh Sr was in such good form that he scored every time he got the ball, "There was a match in which Balbir Singh got the ball four-five times and he converted each one of those chances into goals. Then he said, 'if you keep giving me the ball, then I'll keep scoring and keep playing for four-five years'. ALSO READ: Olympics-Tokyo 2020 organisers ban alcohol, defend allowing spectators When asked about his memories from the Melbourne Games, Gurdev said, "It was a very happy moment for us. We won all the matches in the 1956 Olympics. This was only the second time that no team had scored against India in the entire Olympics campaign. Our Captain Balbir Singh Sr's finger was broken during the tournament, but he still played for the team. At that time, wherever the Indian Hockey Team went, it always won." The former India Hockey Forward also spoke about roaming around in Melbourne during the Olympics, "Australia is a great country. During our free time, the entire team went around Melbourne and saw some sights." Winning an Olympic Medal is a huge achievement for any sportsperson, but the Indian team didn't receive a big reception once they arrived in India. With great pride, Gurdev said that it was normal for India to win a Gold in hockey in those days. "When we came back from Melbourne with the Gold Medal, there were only three-four persons to receive us at the airport. Everyone expected us to win as it was quite normal for us to win Gold Medals in the Olympics," signed off Gurdev."

Former Indian hockey forward Gurdev Singh recounts playing with Balbir Singh Sr in 1956 Olympics

indian-hockey-in-olympics

Indian Hockey In Olympics, News on Indian Hockey In Olympics, stories on Indian Hockey In Olympics, articles on Indian Hockey In Olympics, Indian Hockey In Olympics stories at Wion, Indian Hockey In Olympics news, Indian Hockey In Olympics latest news

indian hockey-in-olympics

With a medal at Tokyo Olympics: Re-live the 'Glory Days' of Indian men's hockey

Former Indian hockey forward Gurdev Singh recounts playing with Balbir Singh Sr in 1956 Olympics