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.
Emmanuel Noveen Malhotra is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who is currently an assistant coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is a former assistant coach of the Vancouver Canucks. He last played with the Lake Erie Monsters in the American Hockey League (AHL) on a try-out basis. During his 18-year career, he played as a centre for the Montreal Canadiens, Carolina Hurricanes, Vancouver Canucks, San Jose Sharks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars and the New York Rangers. Malhotra was known as a two-way forward and for his faceoff proficiency, in which he won over 56% of faceoffs he took in the NHL.
Graham John Reid is a former Australian field hockey player who played as a defender and midfielder for the Australian national team. He managed the Indian men's national team that won a bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Malhotra is an Indian surname of the Dhai Ghar sub-group of Khatris from Punjab. Mehrotra is the modified version of Malhotra.
Field hockey in India refers to two teams, the India men's national field hockey team and the India women's national field hockey team.
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 India national team that won gold medal at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. He was from his home State of Mysore to win an Olympic medal.
Zafar Iqbal is a former Indian field hockey player and captain of the India national team.
Gurbux ("Gurbakhsh") Singh is a former field hockey player from India who was a member of the India men's national field hockey team that won the gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics. He was the Joint Captain at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games where India won bronze medal and the Coach to the Indian team at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. For his outstanding contribution to the country in the field of sports, Gurbux was given the Arjuna Award in the year 1966.
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.
Kishan Lal was an Indian field hockey player. He captained the Indian hockey team in 1948, which won its first gold at the Olympics as an independent country, defeating Great Britain in the final, 4–0.
Sport is a significant part of life in India. The country has a very long sports history, with sports being a part of tradition, culture, finance and entertainment. People in India closely follow various sports and enthusiastically participate in them. Cricket is the most popular spectator sport in the country, and citizens often play it as a recreational activity; it generates the highest television viewership, and features full-capacity audiences in stadiums during international and Indian Premier League (IPL) matches. It is part of popular culture. However, in more recent decades, football has also become another popular sport in terms of broadcast viewership and stadium audience attendance. Kabaddi has grown into the mainstream, as well as badminton, tennis, and athletics. Kho-kho has grown into becoming the fourth-most viewed sport in India. India are the one of the power houses in field hockey. India won World Cup & multiple medals in field hockey in Olympics. During that time, Dhyan Chand was a notable player. Sports such as swimming and badminton are played as recreational activities and for exercise.
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.
Neville Stephen J. D'Souza was an Indian footballer who played as a striker. During the "golden era of Indian football" under legendary coach Syed Abdul Rahim, he was recognised one of the finest strikers of India national team having perfect eye for goal. He finished the 1956 Summer Olympics as joint top scorer with four goals, inducing a hat-trick. D'Souza was also a field hockey player, having represented various teams in both domestic and international tournaments.
Sardara Singh, sometimes referred as Sardar Singh, is an Indian former professional field hockey player and captain of the Indian national team. He usually plays the center half position. Sardara became the youngest player to captain the Indian team when he led the side at the 2008 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. He was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India, in 2015. On 13 July 2016, the responsibilities of the captain were handed over from him to P. R. Sreejesh, the goalkeeper of Indian Team. On 12 September 2018, Sardara announced his retirement from international hockey. He played 314 matches during 12 years in his career.
Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh is an Indian professional field hockey player who plays as a goalkeeper and former captain of the Indian national team. He plays in the Hockey India League for Uttar Pradesh Wizards. Sreejesh played a vital role in the Indian national team's bronze medal win at the 2020 Summer Olympics men's field hockey tournament. He won FIH Player of the Year Awards (2020–21) for best male goalkeeper.
Manpreet Singh Pawar is an Indian field hockey player. He led the Indian field hockey team to the bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He plays as a halfback.
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
An Indian field hockey team toured the Federation of Malaya and the Colony of Singapore between 11 February and 10 March 1954. The Indian Hockey Federation XI played 16 games out of which three were international fixtures. India won all matches played and scored a total of 121 goals. Captain of the touring side Balbir Singh Sr. finished with most goals (44), while Susainathan scored 25 and vice-captain Randhir Singh Gentle, 14.
