The first hockey match of the much awaited Tokyo Olympics starts within 24 hours. In the run up to the Olympics, we honoured most of our accomplished Olympians by unearthing their rare photos and presenting them to the new generation the way they like — number-laced graphics. As the nation wait for the Indian men’s and women’s hockey team to do well, we are happy to publish perhaps the last of historic pieces — none other than memories of 1964 Olympic gold. Its collated from ‘Golden Days’ the autobiography of double Olympian and gold medallist Gurbux Singh — Editor
GURBUX SINGH
…. And then the end of the match was signalled. My mind went blank…more mentally than physically….you might call it over-happiness.
We had won. This was Tokyo, 29″October, 1964.
The victory celebrations began immediately…. Milkha Singh, who was in Tokyo as one of the 4 x 400 metres relay team, was one of our staunchest fans, present at every match. He started dancing the bhangra: it was an unforgettable sight. Shooter Karni Singh was not used to this dance and hurt his ankle. But the dance went on.
It was only when our captain, Charanjit Singh, stood on the victory stand, our National Anthem was played, and our supporters swayed the Indian tricolour around us, that the true realization began to sink in. Most of us cried openly: there were tears in my eyes as I went up to receive my medal from G.D. Sondhi, at the time the Indian member of the International Olympic Committee.
It was undoubtedly the best moment of my life. The wearing· of the Gold medal around one’s neck is a matter of a few moments, but preparations for the happening of these few moments are long and arduous. The worth of an Olympic Gold medal cannot be expressed in words: it is a matter of feeling.
The hockey stadium was a small one, with the stands accommodating perhaps three thousand spectators in all on the two sides. The Japanese organizers had thoughtfully distributed Indian and Pakistani flags to our respective supporters!
1964 Olympic Gold Medallion
We had naturally been tense before the match. ….. The Pakistanis stood a little way away, and suddenly I noticed some of them were frothing at the mouth, so great was the tension.
They were, indeed, the defending champions. We had come to Tokyo as the challengers: we had nothing to lose. So, they were under greater pressure.
The evening before the final, we discussed tactics…. Captain Charanjit still felt we would gain little by playing rough…when I had a chance to speak, I asserted we should retaliate if they were aggressive. Charanjit maintained we should go for clean hockey. But I was adamant : if they hit me once…
In the team coach on the way to the grounds, goalkeeper Shankar Laxman, as always, had led the singing of our rousing signature tune. This was the patriotic song Vatan ki raha me watan ke naujawan shahid ho, a popular number by Mohammed Rafi, from the film Shaheed. No religious sentiments were involved: the aim was to raise our team-spirit.
The seventy minutes were eventful…..as the final moments neared, how were we to resist our excitement? The match still had some way to go … when would we have the medals around our necks? In those days, there was no official time-keeper sitting on the sidelines. Timings were dictated by the giant clock. Pakistan tried hard to get an equalizer, but found Laxman a solid last line of defence. Finally, the Dutch umpire, Lathouwers blew the long whistle.
Exclusive photo of 1964 Olympic medallist taken out in a public procession
The Gold was ours! India were again Olympic champions. The teams:
India : Shankar Laxman; Prithipal Singh and Dharam Singh (jr); Mohinder Lal, Charanjit Singh (captain) and Gurbux Singh; Joginder Singh, VJ. Peter, Harbinder Singh, Haripal Kaushik and Darshan Singh.
Pakistan : Abdul Hamid; Munir Dar and M.H. Atif; Saeed Anwar, Anwar Ahmed Khan and Muhammad Rashid; Khalid Mahmood, Zakauddin, Afzal Manna, Asad Malik and Mutiullah.
The other players in our Tokyo squad were Udham Singh, Bandu Patil, Ali Sayeed, R.A. Christy, Jagjit Singh, Rajinder Singh and Balbir Singh (Punjab). Our coach was Dharam Singh Sr, and the manager Inder Mohan Mahajan.
Excerpts from ‘Golden Day’ by Gurbux Singh.