The 1958 Asian Games, officially the Third Asian Games and commonly known as Tokyo 1958, was a multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 May to 1 June 1958. It was governed by the Asian Games Federation. A total of 1,820 athletes representing 20 Asian National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in the Games. The program featured competitions in 13 different sports encompassing 97 events, including four non-Olympic sports, judo, table tennis, tennis and volleyball. Four of these competition sports – field hockey, table tennis, tennis and volleyball – were introduced for the first time in the Asian Games.
India first participated at the Olympic Games in 1900, becoming the first Asian nation to do so. Norman Pritchard represented the country and won two medals, both silver, in athletics. The nation first sent a team to the Summer Olympic Games in 1920 and has participated in every Summer Games since then. India has competed at several Winter Olympic Games after its debut in 1964.
Field hockey made its debut at the Modern Olympic Games as a men's competition in the 1908 Games in London. It was removed from the Olympic schedule of the Summer Olympic Games for the 1924 Paris Games and was reintroduced in the 1928 Amsterdam Games. The Women's field hockey was introduced into the Olympic programme at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
Field hockey in India is played by the men's national team and the women's national team at the international level. Historically, both the teams are amongst the most successful Indian sports teams.
Charanjit Singh was an Indian field hockey player who was the captain of the team that won the gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He was also a member of the team that won the silver medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome and the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta.
The India men's national field hockey team represents India in international field hockey competitions. The team is governed by the association Hockey India.
The Pakistan national field hockey team represents Pakistan in international field hockey. Having played its first match in 1948, it is administered by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), the governing body for hockey in Pakistan. It has been a member of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) since 1948 and was founding member of the Asian Hockey Federation (ASHF), which was formed in 1958. Pakistan is one of the most successful national field hockey teams in the world with a record four Hockey World Cup wins.
Field hockey is an Asian Games event since the 1958 Games in Tokyo, Japan. The women's competition has been held since the 1982 Games in New Delhi, India.
The Pakistan Olympic Association was created in 1948, while the Pakistan Sports Board was established in 1962.
The Indian women's national field hockey team represents India in international field hockey, and is governed by Hockey India. Nabhvarna are currently ranked 9th in the FIH Women's World Ranking, and are ranked as the second best team in Asia. They have won the gold at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and 1982 Asian Games. They have won the Asia Cup twice, in 2004 and 2017, and won the Asian Champions Trophy thrice, in 2016, 2023 and 2024.
Prithipal Singh was an Indian field hockey player who played as a halfback. He was a member of the India national team that won a gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and silver and bronze at the 1960 Rome Olympics and bronze at the 1968 Mexico Olympics respectively.
Munir Ahmed Dar was a Pakistani field hockey player who played as a fullback. He was a member of the Pakistan team that won gold at the 1960 Rome Olympics and silver the 1956 Melbourne and 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. He captained the side from 1965 to 1967.
India participated in the 1958 Asian Games held in Tokyo, Japan from 24 May to 1 June 1958. India was ranked seventh with 5 gold medals, 4 silver medals and 4 bronze medals, in the third edition of the Asian Games.
Birendra Lakra is an Indian former field hockey player. He represented India in men's field hockey and recently came out of retirement alongside Rupinderpal Singh and captained the Indian team in the Asia Cup held in Jakarta, Indonesia to a bronze medal. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics also, he also served as the vice-captain of Indian team.
Rupinder Pal Singh is an Indian former field hockey player, who represented the India national field hockey team. He plays as a fullback and is known for his abilities as one of the best drag flickers in the world. He represented India in the 2014 Commonwealth Games at Glasgow, 2014 Asian Games at Incheon, 2016 Olympic Games held at Rio de Janeiro, and at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, held at Gold Coast, Australia. He was part of the Indian hockey team that won a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Manpreet Singh Pawar is an Indian field hockey player and a four time Olympian from Punjab. He led the Indian field hockey team to the bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He plays as a halfback.
Lalremsiami Hmarzote, known mononymously as Lalremsiami, is an Indian field hockey player who plays as a forward and occasionally as a halfback for the Indian national team. At the club level, she plays for Sports Authority of India. Hmarzote was a part of the 18-member squad that represented India at the 2018 World Cup. At the Asian Games that followed, she became the first sportsperson from Mizoram to win an Asian medal after she won silver.
India competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Originally scheduled to take place in July–August 2020, the games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Games marked the nation's 25th appearance at the Summer Olympics after having made its official debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics.
Hardik Singh is an Indian field hockey player who plays as a midfielder for the Indian national team.
Kota Watanabe is a Japanese field hockey player who plays as a forward for Japanese national team.