Here's Why Our Men's Hockey Team Is In The Olympic Semis After 49 Years Instead Of 41

In a country obsessed with cricket, India's entry into the semis of the men's hockey tournament at the Olympics 2020 has made many of us fall in love with the sport once again. Shah Rukh Khan's Chak De India received special mentions India outclassed Great Britain in the quarters.

India won 3-1. Dilpreet Singh (7th minute), Gurjant Singh (16th), and Hardik Singh (57th) scored for India and ensured we made it to the final 4, as per TNN.

PTI

Several well-known social media handles had tweeted that India made it to the semi-finals of the Olympic Games after 41 years. It should be noted that the Indian men's hockey team has ended their semi-final drought at the Summer Games after 49 years. Known for producing legendary players like Major Dhyan Chand and Balbir Singh Senior, India last won an Olympic medal in hockey at the 1980 Moscow Games.

Interestingly, there were no semi-final ties in the 1980 edition of the Olympics hosted by Moscow. As many as 66 nations including the USA, Germany Argentina opted to boycott the 1980 Moscow Games in the aftermath of the Soviet¨CAfghanistan war. Only India, Spain, Poland, Cuba, Tanzania, and the hosts Soviet Union entered the hockey competition at the Moscow Games. The 1980 edition was played in group stage format followed by the summit clash. Thus, India's last official entry in the semi-final stage had come at the 1972 Munich Games, not the 1980 Olympics.

PTI

The Indian hockey team recorded their last semi-final appearance at the 1972 Summer Games against arch-rivals Pakistan. India were upstaged by bitter-rivals Pakistan in the penultimate clash of the 1972 Munich Games. Pakistan defeated India 2-0 to enter the final of the Summer Games at the time. However, Germany edged past Pakistan 1-0 in the final of the 1972 Summer Games.

India led by Billimoga Puttaswamy Govinda secured a podium finish as the Asian giants won a bronze medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics. The Indian men's team won six consecutive gold medals at the Olympics from 1928 to 1956. India extended its gold medal tally to 8 by winning the Tokyo 1964 and Moscow 1980 editions of the Summer Games in men's hockey. Manpreet-led Team India side will take on World Champions Belgium in the semifinals of the Summer Games 2020 on Tuesday.