Major Dhyan Chand was an Indian field hockey player, widely regarded as one of the greatest field hockey players in history. He was known for his extraordinary ball control and goal-scoring feats, in addition to earning three Olympic gold medals, in 1928, 1932 and 1936, during an era where India dominated field hockey. His influence extended beyond these victories, as India won the field hockey event in seven out of eight Olympics from 1928 to 1964.
Wong Peng Soon, was a Malayan/Singaporean badminton player who reigned as a top player in Malaya from the 1930s to the 1950s when it was a single nation. Noted for his smooth but powerful strokes and graceful footwork, he won the singles title seven times in Singapore and eight times in Malaya during this period, as well as being the top player in the All England, the Danish Open, the Indian Open, and the Philippines Open to name a few.
Kunwar Digvijay Singh, popularly known as "Babu", was an Indian field hockey player. He was born in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh. He is widely known for his mesmerising passing ability and is considered by many to be the greatest dribbler of the game comparable only to Dhyan Chand.
Randhir Singh Gentle was an Indian field hockey player and coach. He was a part of the Indian team that won three consecutive gold medals in the Summer Olympics, from 1948 to 1956. Gentle is one among only seven Indians to have won three gold medals at the Games.
Muniswamy Rajgopal was an Indian field hockey player. He was a member of the Indian national team that won gold medal at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. He was from his home State of Mysore to win an Olympic medal.
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.
Udham Singh Kular was an Indian Hockey Player from Sansarpur, Jalandhar, Punjab, India. He played in 1952 Summer Olympics Helsinki, 1956 Summer Olympics Melbourne, 1960 Summer Olympics Rome and 1964 Summer Olympics Tokyo. He shares the distinction of being one of only two Indian players to win four Olympic medals, the other being Leslie Claudius.
Ranganathan Francis, also known as Aranganathan, was an Indian field hockey player who played as a goalkeeper. He was member of the Indian team that won gold medals at three consecutive Olympic games: 1948, 1952, and 1956.
Raghbir Singh Bhola was an Indian Airforce Officer and international hockey player who represented India in the 1956 Melbourne and 1960 Rome Olympics, winning a gold and silver medal respectively for the country. He was also awarded the Arjuna Award for his contributions to Indian Hockey in 2000.
Om Prakash Malhotra was an Indian field hockey player who played as a halfback. He was part of the India national team that won gold at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. He was a member of the Indian team that toured Afghanistan in 1952 and Malaya and Singapore in 1954. He also played for his State team United Provinces in the Indian national championships.
India competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics in Wembley Park, London, England. 79 competitors, all men, took part in 39 events in 10 sports. It was the first time that India competed as an independent nation at the Olympic Games.
Sansarpur is a village in Jalandhar district in the Indian state of Punjab.
The India men's national field hockey team represents India in international field hockey competitions, and is governed by Hockey India. The team was formerly under the control of Indian Hockey Federation. India was the first non-European team to be a part of the International Hockey Federation. In 1928, the team won its first Olympic gold medal and until 1960, the Indian men's team remained unbeaten in the Olympics, winning six gold medals in a row. The team had a 30–0 winning streak during this time, from their first game in 1928 until the 1960 gold medal final which they lost. India also won the World Cup in 1975. India's hockey team is the most successful team ever in the Olympics, having won a total of eight gold medals – in 1928, 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1964 and 1980. India also has the best overall performance in Olympic history with 83 victories out of the 134 matches played. They have also scored more goals in the Olympics than any other team. They are also the only team ever to win the Olympics without conceding a single goal, having done so in 1928 and 1956.
Prithipal Singh was an Indian field hockey player who played as a halfback. He was a member of the Indian 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.
Colonel Balbir Singh Kular, VSM is an Indian field hockey player (half-back). He is also known as Balbir Singh Kullar/Khullar, or simply as Balbir Singh.
Sardar Balbir Singh Kullar was an Indian field hockey player and a Punjab Police officer. Alternative spellings of his last name include Khullar.
Choo Seng Quee Joseph, popularly known as Uncle Choo, was a Singaporean footballer and football coach. He was coach of the Indonesia, Malaya/Malaysia and Singapore national teams. He is widely recognised as one of Singapore's best football coaches.
Wilfred James Skinner, PPA was a Singaporean athlete who represented Singapore in football and hockey.
Balbir Singh Dosanjh was an Indian hockey player and coach. He was a three-time Olympic gold medallist, having played a key role in India's wins in London (1948), Helsinki (1952), and Melbourne (1956) Olympics. He is regarded as one of the greatest hockey players of all time, a modern-day Dhyan Chand, a legend of the sport, and is widely regarded as the sport's greatest ever centre-forward. His Olympic record for most goals scored by an individual in an Olympic men's hockey final remains unbeaten. Singh set this record when he scored five goals in India's 6–1 victory over the Netherlands in the gold medal game of the 1952 Olympic Games. He was often called Balbir Singh Senior to distinguish him from other Indian hockey players named Balbir Singh. Singh scored 246 goals from just 61 international caps
The following is the list of squads that took place in the men's field hockey tournament at the 1956 Summer Olympics.
