
The team was managed by the legendary Balbir Singh Sr. India won the World Cup in 1975 beating Pakistan 2-1 in the final with Ashok Kumar, the son of wizard Dhyan Chand, scoring the winning goal. The Indian hockey men’s team may be the most decorated side in the history of the Olympics, but its record in the World Cup hasn’t been as glorious. Belgium are the defending champion, having won the World Cup in 2018. India and Belgium have won one World Cup each. Germany is the only other country with multiple World Cup titles with two. The Netherlands was also the first country to win the World Cup as hosts in 1973.

The Netherlands and Australia follow close behind with three World Cups each. Pakistan are also the most successful nation in the men’s Hockey World Cup, winning four titles. Pakistan won the first FIH Hockey World Cup, beating hosts Spain 1-0 in the final. The tournament attracted almost 10,000 people, emphasising that the sport was growing beyond its Asian echelons. and then using custom nations to trick the game into giving a country land. The first men’s Hockey World Cup was an experiment and it was quite a success. The base game contains 210 achievements worth 1,025 Gamerscore, and there are. The stage was set for a brand new world tournament in field hockey. The Hockey World Cup trophy, standing at 61cm tall, was designed by artisans in the Pakistan Army, who made it out of gold and silver. However, a politically charged climate in the Indian subcontinent meant that Spain was chosen to host the inaugural Hockey World Cup. (Nur Khan was also the brainchild behind the concept of the Hockey Champions Trophy.) Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Hockey Federation chief Air Marshal Nur Khan – a sports enthusiast who also served as Pakistan’s head of federation for cricket and squash – proposed that the first Hockey World Cup be held in Pakistan. The idea of a hockey World Cup was first mooted jointly by India and Pakistan in an International Hockey Federation (FIH) council meeting in March 1969. The change in surface saw a change in guard as the faster and fitter European nations began to compete a lot better.įield hockey was expanding its reach and it received a solid boost when the first edition of the men’s Hockey World Cup was staged in 1971. The Asian stranglehold began waning in the 1970s as the world moved away from natural grass fields and towards astroturfs – artificial grass surfaces specifically designed to play hockey.

It was dominated by the Asian teams, with India alone winning eight gold medals and Pakistan three. For much of the previous century, the rich heritage of hockey was tied to the Olympic Games.Įvery four years, the best teams in the world gathered to play for the Olympic gold, considered the highest honour in hockey.
