The Indian men’s hockey team has won eight Olympic gold medals, while their only World Cup triumph at Kuala Lumpur in 1975 is regarded as one of Indian sport’s great moments.
India marks the golden jubilee of that success, an emotional high after coming close in the previous two editions – India won bronze in 1971 and were runners-up in 1973. The book March of Glory, by hockey journalist Errol D’Cruz and K Arumugam, a long-time chronicler of the game, captures the drama and moments around that triumph in Kuala Lumpur to this day 50 years ago.
The book tells the story of Ajit Pal Singh and his battling teammates as they fought tooth-and-nail to finish atop the podium in the Malaysian capital. From being pushed to the brink of elimination after a shock defeat to Argentina to staring at defeat in the semi-final against the hosts, India turned things around to reach a showpiece final where they played arch rivals Pakistan.
Here too, India recovered after falling behind to claim the coveted trophy, erasing the pain of losing the final to Netherlands in the previous edition two years earlier.
An extract from Chapter 18 paints a picture of an era when Indian hockey was a byword for the country’s sporting aspirations as well as the bond within the squad as well as those cheering them on:
“A knock on the door awakened Ashok Kumar, who shared a room with Kalaiah, at 6.30am on the day of the final. It was Balbir and Bodhi accompanied by a Malaysian gentleman of Indian origin. He pulled out pieces of yellow cloth from a bag and handed them to Ashok, saying: “Please put these in your shirt pockets when you play today.”
“We did so,” says Ashok, “I don’t know whether that would have worked or not. On my part, I poured some holy oil to Shanidevta (a Hindu diety) in the room and prayed for help to win the final.”
Even as he hoped the team received assistance from above, Ashok planned to win the World Cup on solid ground as he reflected on the plan worked out with Govinda the previous night.
The team converged on the reception area of the hotel before leaving for the final. Would they return jubilant? Or would it be a crushing repeat of Amsterdam?
Manager Balbir Sr opened an envelope, pulled out a letter addressed to the team and read out its contents.
It was brief, it was simple: “You are second to none!”
And who was the undersigned? It was none other than MP Ganesh, the captain of the 1973 World Cup squad that all but won the trophy in Amsterdam!
Ganesh was playing club hockey in Italy at the time, assisting Levante Insurance HC, Torre del Greco, Napoli, but followed the World Cup as best as he could. “I didn’t know the address of the team but sent it to The Indian Hockey Team, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.”
With the World Cup played up by the media and followed quite keenly by the public, the letter reached Balbir in time for the final.
“I had retired from international hockey by then,” said Ganesh. “But I had some unfinished business with India and the World Cup.”
“Those words boosted our morale,” says Harcharan. “We hadn’t forgotten the heartbreak in Amsterdam and our former captain’s words counted for a lot as we set out to the stadium.
Harcharan received another fillip when the team readied to take the pitch for the warm-up before formalities began for the final.
“One Mrs Gill walked into our dressing room as we were gearing up to enter the field, took out a photograph of the 10th Sikh Guru Shri Guru Gobind Singhji and exhorted us saying, ‘Mere veero today keep the laaj of Guru Gobind Singh’(my bravehearts, keep up the prestige of Guru Gobind Singh’. This line and her action at that juncture had an electrifying effect on us!”
Photographs provide a powerful visual element in the book, besides details of key matches and comments from players on a remarkable journey. It also marks the centenary year of hockey administration in the country.
Leave feedback about this