46th Anniversary of 1975 World Cup win: 46 facts you should know
46th Anniversary of 1975 World Cup win: 46 facts you should know
March 14, 2021
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1. India played arch rivals Pakistan in the final for the first and only time in the World Cup history
2.Two of India’s matches were abandoned and replayed (Vs West Germany and Vs Malaysia, Semis)
3. India beat West Germany 3-1 in the concluding league match to top the pool
4. Aslam Sher Khan came on as substitute to convert a penalty corner at the day end to take the semifinal against Malaysia into extra time.
5. Harcharan Singh scored the match winner in extra time against Malaysia to take India into the final
6. Mumbai was the original venue of the World Cup which was moved to Kuala Lumpur
7. India emulated Pakistan by winning the World Cup after losing rights to host the event (Pakistan won in Barcelona in 1971 after Lahore was the original venue).
8. India converted all penalty strokes in KL unlike in Amsterdam where they missed many.
9. It was second time for Ajitpal Singh to lead India at the World Cup and doing the same in 1971.
10. India made steady progress from bronze (1971), silver (1973) and finally gold (1975)
11. India lost to Argentina for the first time in a major tournament
12. The World Cup was played in Asia for the first time in 1975
13. The Indian camp was held in Patiala
14. Legendary Balbir Singh Sr, was manager and de facto head coach of the India team
15. India beat England 2-1 in the opener, both goals from penalty strokes
16. India were held to a 1-1 draw by a young Australia, average age 22
17. India beat Ghana 7-0 for their largest win in the KL World Cup
18. Indians were able to score in crucial ties despite odds
19. Ashok Dewan was goalkeeper in the final, replacing first-choice Leslie Fernandes
20. 70,000 watched the final at the Merdeka Stadium, a record equalled later in 1990 (Lahore)
21. Defending champions Netherlands finished 9th.
22. India went to KL under the IOA banner as the IHF was dysfunctional amid infighting
23. Ashok Kumar scored the match winning goal against Pakistan in the final in the 51st minute
24. Pakistan took the lead in the final the 17th minute through Saeed Zahid
25. Surjit Singh equalised in the 45th minute from a penalty corner
26. Ajitpal Singh cleared the ball from within India’s circle a split second before the final hooter
27. Aslam Sher Khan revealed that his penalty corner goal to rescue India in the semi-final against hosts Malaysia was a mis-hit!
28. Harcharan Singh struck the match winner in extra time against Malaysia to make it 3-2 after right winger VJ Phillips cross wasn’t intercepted by the Malaysian defence
29. Manager Balbir Singh made each player carry a piece of cloth in their pockets for good luck before the final
30. The team arrived in Chennai from KL where it was held up by customs for considerable time, irking captain Ajitpal and his teammates
31. Four India players — Ashok Kumar, Michael Kindo, Ajitpal Singh and Harcharan Singh won gold at KL to add to silver and bronze each at the first and second World Cups
32. Malaysian PM Tun Abdul Razaak presented the World Cup to Ajitpal Singh
33. PM Indira Gandhi invited the triumphant team over but pointed out to a distortion in the map of Kashmir on the globe of the magnificent trophy donated by Pakistan
34. India scored 19 goals and conceded 8 at KL 1975
35. Onkar Singh, left half, was the youngest in the squad. Oldest was HJS Chimni
36. Railways contributed maximum players to the India squad
37. Jasdev Singh (Hindi) and Melville D’Mello (English) were AIR commentators at KL 1975.
38. G Vijayanathan (Malaysia) and A Renaud (France) were the umpires for the final between India and Pakistan
39. A collision with India right half Varinder Singh rendered the legendary Samiullah Khan hors de combat in the final
40. After rain marred much of the tournament, the 1975 KL final was played in bright sunshine
41. Victory celebrations in India continued for next six months!
42. The victorious Indian team toured many parts of India, the hosts paid hefty fee to IHF
43. Dropping of V. Baskaran was the lone controversy when the team was announced.
44. The 1975 team continues to enjoy celebrity status despite decades having passed by.
45. The team played a match against the top Bollywood stars, which attracted huge crowd
46. Ashok Kumar went on to play his fourth World Cup in 1978.
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Excellent
Good info
Excellent
Great. it makes interesting read