Will Indian hockey's 51-year-old wait end?

Will the 51 year old wait of Indian hockey end? India won the World Cup in 1975. Since then the team has never won any World Cup medal again.

India has started its new World Cup campaign from August 15 in Netherlands and Belgium.

In such a situation, the two big heroes of the historic victory of 1975, Ashok Kumar and Aslam Sher Khan, are remembering the tournament which changed their lives.

One had scored the winning goal in the final. The second one saved India from defeat in the semi-finals.

today india vs pakistan

Let's talk about that historic victory a little later, but first let's talk about this World Cup.

The India-Pakistan rivalry will return to the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup stage on Wednesday. In this contest, not only prestige will be at stake.

India need at least a draw to secure a place in the second round, while Pakistan will have to win their Pool D match at the Wagner Stadium in Amstelveen to continue their campaign.

India has scored three points in two matches. They started their campaign with a 3-1 win against Wales. In the second match, India had to face defeat by 2-4 at the hands of England.

Pakistan has one point in its account. It had lost 1-4 against England, while the match against Wales was a 3-3 draw. England has already qualified.

Memories of the title won 51 years ago

Ashok Kumar says, "The memories of the 1975 World Cup win are still fresh in my mind. It feels as if it all happened yesterday."

India defeated Pakistan 2-1 in the final played on 15 March 1975. India was trailing 0-1 at one point in the match, but the Indian team made a brilliant comeback and won the title. Even today, this is India's only men's hockey World Cup title.

This was a victory for the entire team. But two moments are remembered the most. First, Aslam Sher Khan's goal in the semi-final against Malaysia.

Second, Ashok Kumar's controversial but decisive goal in the final.

Recalling the final, Ashok Kumar says, "The match was going on at a very fast pace. The score was 1-1 and only 12 minutes were left in the match. Then we got a penalty corner. I did not choose to take a direct shot."

"I went over the circle from the right side, beat two defenders and passed the ball to VJ Phillips."

"Phillips passed several players and then returned the ball to me. At that time I was right in front of the goal post. I immediately shot. The ball hit the corner of the post and came out."

"Malaysian referee Galasingham Vijayanathan was confused for a few moments. He waited for a while and then awarded the goal."

"What happened after that, I don't remember. It was a passion. We were convinced that we could win. There was a dispute about the goal, but for us it was very important."

After this India had to face a lot of pressure. Pakistan was continuously attacking.

Ashok says, "The last 10 minutes were the most difficult. The Pakistani players pounced on us. But we did not want to let them score a goal. Then the final whistle blew and we became world champions. The whole world was at our feet."

But Ashok believes that this victory was not possible without one player.

He says, "If Aslam Sher Khan had not scored a goal in the semi-finals, we would not have been able to reach the finals. His goal was the turning point of the entire tournament."

Aslam Sher Khan, an excellent defender and penalty corner specialist, kept waiting for his chance throughout the tournament. The surprising thing was that he did not get a chance to play even a single match in the league stage.

Aslam says, "The situation was very different at that time. No one said it openly, but it was clear that I was not wanted in the team."

"It had been 13 days since I came to Kuala Lumpur and I was still waiting for my first match. I used to cry at night and dream of playing in the team."

His wish was answered in the semi-finals.

India had missed many penalty corners against Malaysia. The pressure on the team was continuously increasing. There were about eight minutes left in the match and India was trailing 1-2.

About 50 thousand spectators were present in the stadium. They used to make loud noise on every mistake of India.

Aslam recalls, "The coach was still not in favor of feeding me. But manager Balbir Singh Sr. finally made it clear that now only Aslam will be fed."

Then Michael Kindo was called out and Aslam entered the field.

This decision immediately proved correct. After two minutes, India got a penalty corner.

Aslam says, "I thought this was my moment. I kissed my talisman and took the shot. The ball went past the goalkeeper and into the net. The score became 2-2."

"The entire team heaved a sigh of relief. The match went into extra time. There Harcharan Singh scored the winning goal and took us to the final."

"That was the most wonderful moment of my life."

A day before the final, another incident happened, which Aslam has not been able to forget even today.

Aslam says, "Balbir Singh Sr. took me with him to the mosque. He wanted to pray for India's victory."

"There used to be only one bus for Indian and Pakistani players. When Balbir went to the mosque, the Pakistani players were surprised. Some asked me, how can a Sikh pray in the mosque?"

“It was a very emotional moment,” says Aslam.

"On the way back, a Pakistani player sitting next to me said, something special has happened today. It is believed that Allah does not return empty handed the person who comes to his door for the first time. Now he will not deprive you even of victory."

Aslam says smilingly, "The whole world knows what happened in the final after this."

During that period, India's hockey victories were a part of popular culture. It is also mentioned in the 1979 film Gol Maal.

In the film, Amol Palekar's character makes an excuse of being ill to watch a hockey match and says, "Man, it would have been fun if Govinda and Ashok Kumar were also there today."

It was a different time. At that time hockey players were known in every household. Millions of people used to stay glued to the radio to listen to the World Cup final.

Now after 51 years, India is again in the World Cup field. A new generation wants to create similar memories for itself.

Now India is hoping that the new generation can also relive that feeling.