India competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was the country's fourth participation in the Summer Olympics its debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics. The Indian team consisted of 21 athletes and competed in two sports. India competed in the men's field hockey event for the first time in the history of the Games, and won the gold medal. It was the country's first gold medal, and the began a streak in the sport that continued through the 1956 Games.
In 1927, the provisional Indian Olympic Committee was recognized by the International Olympic Committee and formally became the Indian Olympic Association.[1] The organization was formed to promote the development of sports in India, host the national games, and select teams for the Olympics.[2]
The hockey team won India's first gold medal in the Olympics at the Games.[6] This was the first gold medal won by any nation from Asia at the modern Olympic Games.[7] It began a winning streak in the sport that continued through the 1956 Games.[8]
The Fédération Internationale de Hockey was established in 1926, and field hockey returned to the Olympic Programme for the 1928 Games after missing from the previous Games.[9] This was the first appearance of the Indian hockey team at the Olympic Games.[6] The Indian team, which was established only in 1926, did an international tour before the Games. During the tour, Great Britain and the constituent teams refused to play the Indian team. However, India beat Hockey Association XI consisting of multiple English internationals, and an Anglo-Scottish XI during the tour. Great Britain, who were the defending Olympic champions from the 1920 Games, withdrew their entry to the Games, probably because of the possibility of losing to India, which was still a British dependency at that time.[9]
The Indian team won all the four matches in the preliminary round, scoring 26 goals and not conceding a single goal. In the other group, Netherlands topped the table, after a 2-1 win over Germany.[9] The hockey team won the country's only medal, a gold, after beating Netherlands in the finals at the Olympisch Stadion.[6]
Roster
The following is the India roster in the men's field hockey tournament of the 1928 Summer Olympics.[10]
Dwarka Das Mulji qualified for three swimming events. He would have become the first Indian Olympic swimmer, however, he did not start the events.[5][11]
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