Reliving India's historic 1975 Hockey World Cup win

Mint

27-04-2025

It was 50 years ago that India won—some argue—its most valuable hockey trophy, in the Kuala Lumpur World Cup. That underappreciated title—overshadowed by the more glamorous Olympic Games, and weakened by the diminishing importance of the sport itself—recently got a little bit of the limelight through a book.
On 15 March 1975, India beat Pakistan in the final at KL for its first and last World Cup trophy. It was the last time the two teams met in the final of a major tournament, the last time India reached the semi-final of this marque event. It was India's penultimate appearance in the final of a global competition (the 1980 Moscow Olympics being the last). As India's prowess as a hockey power declined following the 1975 win, owing largely to the rise of Europe and Australia and the change of surface from natural grass to artificial turf, that historic World Cup crown has achieved further significance in India's hockey history.
March of Glory: The Story of India's 1975 World Cup Hockey Triumph
, by Errol D'Cruz and K Arumugam, attempts to be the definitive account of that unprecedented success. Built through narratives from the surviving members of the team that led India to the title, most of them in their 70s now, through old newspaper clippings, remembrances of staccato radio commentary, some grainy videos and memory,
March of Glory
brings to life that one-and-a-half month period when the Indian team dodged multiple hurdles to score on the big stage.
India had heartbreakingly lost the 1973 World Cup final to The Netherlands. The lead-up to the 1975 edition itself was not without drama. A dispute within the Indian Hockey Federation, the then governing body of the sport in the country, had jeopardised India's participation in the competition. That led to the event being moved from Bombay (now Mumbai) to Malaysia.
India had last won a global event in 1964, at the Tokyo Olympics, followed by bronze medals at subsequent Olympics, Mexico City (1968) and Munich (1972), besides the inaugural World Cup in Barcelona (1971). The loss in 1973, described by The Illustrated Weekly of India as the worst event of the year, was still fresh in memory as the team left for KL.
India finished the group stages with three wins from five matches, which included a shocking loss to Argentina and a draw against Australia. But they topped their group as Pakistan did in the other. A close 3-2 win in the semi-final against Malaysia, buoyed by its passionate supporters, took India to the final against Pakistan, who were undefeated in the tournament.
Authors D'Cruz and Arumugam capture the drama of all the crucial matches, especially the final, which had all the elements of a spectacle that is an India-Pakistan match. The two countries carried the angst of the partition and having fought a few wars but conduct on field was gracious. Ashok Kumar's winning goal in the 2-1 result was contentious, but held in favour of India in the absence of modern-day tools such as replays and multi-cam setups.
One touching story in
March of Glory
comes from Pakistan's Manzoor-ul Hassan. He remembers heading to the Juma Masjid the day before the final for prayers when the Indian team manager and himself a former celebrated player, Balbir Singh Sr, requested for a ride on their bus. Accompanied by Aslam Sher Khan, the only Muslim in the Indian team, Singh 'removed his shoes before entering, washed his mouth and feet and knelt for prayers," remembers Manzoor.
Pakistan, which was the donor of the trophy that went to the winner India, had drawn a map of the globe on the cup in which Kashmir was shown as part of Pakistan. This irked Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, when she met the victorious team on their return home.
The tournament, with 12 teams, was played amid hostile weather, heat and rain, which caused several disruptions. India was leading West Germany 1-0 after 45 minutes when the match had to be called off under fading light and replayed days later. Another strange occurrence was when Pakistan's match against New Zealand was moved to another venue at half-time, with Pakistan scoring once at each venue.
The unpredictable weather even prompted the hosts to hire Bomohs, local medicinal men, whose job was to keep the rain away, presumably through chants and prayers.
D'Cruz uses his memories as a 14-year-old following the tournament over the radio in Mumbai to put
March of Glory
together. Some of the research comes from old magazines he collected, like
World Hockey, Australian Hockey Circle, UK's Hockey Digest
, besides some recordings available online. Doordarshan, the only television channel at the time in the country, would show recordings of the matches a few days later, he remembers, while All India Radio had a live commentary during the games.
When India was trailing Malaysia in the semi-final, with minutes to go in the match, D'Cruz recollects switching off the radio for a bit in nervousness (he had done the same against Argentina as well). In the 1970s, it felt unimaginable that India would not qualify for the title match, though they had failed to do so in three previous major events. He says that the irony of it today is that India has since not qualified for a major final, barring the 1980 Olympics.
Since that Moscow edition, which was weakened by boycotts from the western world, it has taken India about four decades to find its mojo on the global stage, with two successive Olympic bronze medals in 2020/21 and 2024. 'Success, followed by decades of setbacks, makes the Kuala Lumpur triumph not just a subject of celebration but also a lesson for future generations to learn from," write D'Cruz and Arumugam. 'Indian hockey's greatest achievement remains overlooked, its drama and emotion oblivious to later generations."
Arun Janardhan is a Mumbai-based journalist who covers sports, business leaders and lifestyle.