1975 World Cup heroes urge India to end 51-year wait for hockey medal

 India's 1975 World Cup heroes Ashok Kumar and Aslam Sher Khan have urged the national hockey team to put the country ahead of individual ambitions, saying an uncompromising desire to win for the nation can help end the 51-year wait for a World Cup medal.

India has won the men’s World Cup only once, in Kuala Lumpur in 1975 when they defeated Pakistan 2-1 in the final.

Ashok scored the winning goal in the 51st minute to script one of the most memorable moments in Indian hockey history. His message to the current side is simple.

"I would say to the Indian team: keep in mind that victory or defeat will not be yours, but your country's. This will automatically inspire you. This 51-year wait has been too long, and now we have to win a medal," Ashok said while talking to PTI.

The World Cup is scheduled to be held in the Netherlands and Belgium from August 15 to 30.

Aslam, who scored the important equaliser in the semi-final against Malaysia, believes the current players need to approach the World Cup with the same sense of patriotism that drove the 1975 team.

"When we entered the World Cup, our country was like our mother, and we played with that same passion. You too must enter the field with the thought that we are playing for our mother, and our passion must be such that we will win at all costs," he said.

The two former players know what it takes to recover from disappointment.

Ashok and Aslam were part of the Indian teams that won bronze at the 1971 World Cup and silver in 1973.

Missing out on the title in those tournaments only intensified their hunger for gold in 1975.

"When we lost the semi-final in 1971, coach Balbir Singh Sr cried so much that it was difficult to calm him down. Such was the passion to win for the country," Ashok recalled.

"When we won silver in 1973, there was huge disappointment of missing out on gold. I even wondered how I would show these medals to my father and uncle. I would feel ashamed to return home with a bronze or silver," said Ashok, son of legendary hockey player Dhyan Chand and nephew of Roop Singh.

The disappointment also created a unique atmosphere at the team's camp in Chandigarh ahead of the Kuala Lumpur tournament.

"When we were going to Kuala Lumpur, there was a camp in Chandigarh where players from all over the country were playing together for a common goal because we had missed out on gold in the previous two World Cups,” Aslam said.

There was also an unwavering belief within the squad.

"We never considered ourselves inferior to anyone, whether it was Germany, Holland or Australia. This confidence is what is needed, and with this passion, no one can stop this team," said Aslam, who later represented India at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

For Aslam, the 1975 campaign was also a test of personal resilience.

Having spent most of the tournament on the sidelines, he said the frustration of not getting an opportunity became almost unbearable.

"I spent most of the time away. I sat there, and the personal agony was so intense that I would tear up every night before going to sleep for not getting a chance to play," he recalled.

That frustration eventually turned into a defining moment.

"That two-week agony led me to score a goal in the last 15 minutes of the semi-final," Aslam said.

Aslam, however, believes the current team must understand that success at the Olympics and the World Cup comes with different pressures.

The Harmanpreet Singh-led side has won bronze medals at two successive Olympic Games, at Tokyo in 2021 and Paris in 2024.

"However, the dynamics of the Olympics are different from those of the World Cup, which must be kept in mind," he said.

He also pointed out that the Tokyo Olympics were held under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, but India successfully repeated its Olympic medal-winning performance in Paris.

"If we can play with the same spirit as we did at the Paris Olympics, India is sure to be on the podium after 51 years," he said.

Ashok, meanwhile, advised the players to make quick decisions on the field while staying focused on the basics of the game.

"The way I played and what I learnt was to know what to do and when to do it, and to make those decisions quickly. Ball control, attacking, ball handling and passing-all these decisions need to be made quickly. Hockey is a team sport, and every player is important," he said.

He further emphasized the importance of the forward line, saying, "I also believe that the forwards will have to make extraordinary efforts."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Bridge Desk. It is published from a syndicated feed.)