The Indian hockey team outclassed Australia in their group stage match at the Paris Olympics. Harmanpreet Singh and his team secured a historic victory against the Aussies, marking their first win in 52 years at this global event. Notably, Team India has been the most successful team in Olympic history; however, they lost their dominance after the 1980s following the introduction of turf surfaces.
India won their group match 3-1, with two goals scored by team captain Harmanpreet Singh and one by Abhishek Nain.
List of Indian hockey team captains at Olympics
Name | Year | Rank | Venue |
Jaipal Singh Munda | 1928 | Gold medal | Amsterdam Olympics |
Lal Shah Bokhari | 1932 | Gold medal | Los Angeles Olympics |
Dhyan Chand | 1936 | Gold medal | Berlin Olympics |
Kishan Lal | 1948 | Gold medal | London Olympics |
K. D. Singh | 1952 | Gold medal | Helsinki Olympics |
Balbir Singh Sr. | 1956 | Gold medal | Melbourne Olympics |
Leslie Claudius | 1960 | Silver medal | Rome Olympics |
Charanjit Singh | 1964 | Gold medal | Tokyo Olympics |
Gurbux Singh and Prithipal Singh | 1968 | Bronze medal | Mexico City Olympics |
Harmik Singh | 1972 | Bronze medal | Munich Olympics |
Ajit Pal Singh | 1976 | 7th Position | Montreal Olympics |
Vasudevan Baskaran | 1980 | Gold medal | Moscow Olympics |
Zafar Iqbal | 1984 | 5th Position | Los Angeles Olympics |
M. M. Somaya | 1988 | 6th Position | Seoul Olympics |
Pargat Singh | 1992 | 7th Position | Barcelona Olympics |
Pargat Singh | 1996 | 8th Position | Atlanta Olympics |
Ramandeep Singh | 2000 | 7th Position | Sydney Olympics |
Dilip Tirkey | 2004 | 7th Position | Athens Olympics |
Bharat Chetri | 2012 | 12th Position | London Olympics |
P. R. Sreejesh | 2016 | 8th position | Rio Olympics |
Manpreet Singh | 2020 | Bronze medal | Tokyo Olympics |
Indian Hockey team captains
Harmanpreet Singh is the 22nd captain to lead an Indian men’s hockey team at the Olympics in Paris.
Notably, the team led by Manpreet Singh won a bronze medal in Tokyo 2020, ending a 41-year drought for an Olympic medal. He joined an esteemed group of individuals who have had the distinction of leading the Indian squad in the Summer Games, including Dhyan Chand, Kunwar Digvijay Singh, and Balbir Singh (senior).
When India’s hockey team won gold in their first Olympics in Amsterdam 1928, Jaipal Singh Munda became the first captain of an Indian hockey squad.