Indian field hockey has a glorious heritage. Ever since made its Olympic debut  in the Amsterdam Olympics in 1928, India turned out to be a force to reckon with. So much so it is hailed as the national sport of India. Despite stiff competition for Olympic entry, India qualified for the Olympics since 1928 except once. With 8 Olympic gold medals, six in a trot, its feat is unparalleled in the sporting history of India. The history was made possible by the devoted and committed players, who hail from across all provinces of the sprawling country. About 200 odd players have represented India at Olympics. The last Olympic medal for India at Olympics is 1980. Vasudevan Baskaran’s India beat Spain in the final 4-3 to win its eighth and the last Olympic gold. On the eve of Tokyo Olympics, which is to unfurl in about 40 days, we have been bringing out series of articles and statistics on Indian field hockey Olympians. In this article, we deal those who had the opportunity to represent India in three Olympics.

In all, 18 Indian hockey players are triple Olympians, besides three four-time Olympians. The epoch making 1936 team was the first to have triple Olympians, that too, two in its ranks: Dhyan Chand and goalie Richard James Allan. It was in the colonial era.

Similarly in the post Independence era, the 1956 Melbourne Olympic team had three triple Olympians. The Indian teams had to wait till 1988 to have in its Olympic team another three triple Olympians. The complete list of triple Olympians and their brief sketch are given below in a chronological order.

Compiled by K. ARUMUGAM, Author: Hockey Year Book Series

COLONIAL ERA

Richard Allan
04.06.1902-1969
1928. 1932, 1936
Port Commissioner, Goalkeeper
Nagpur (Maharastra)

**********
Dhyan Chand
29.08.1905 – 03.12.1979
1928, 1932, 1936
Services, Forward
Allahabad (UP)

**********

POST INDEPENDENCE (On Natural Grass)

Ranganathan Francis
15.03.1920 – 01.12.1975
1948, 1952, 1956
All on grass
Police, Goalkeeper
Chennai (Tamil Nadu)

********

Randhir Singh Gentle
22.09.1922 – 25.09.1981
1948, 1952, 1956
All on grass
Railways, Defender
Delhi & Mumbai

*****

Balbir Singh Sr.
1948, 1952, 1956
All on Grass
Punjab Police, Forward
Haripur (Punjab)

**********

Haripal Kaushik
02.02.1934 – 25.01.2018
1956, 1960, 1964
All on grass
Indian Army, forward
Mithapur (Punjab)

*****

Victor John Peter
1960, 1964, 1968
All on grass
Services, Forward
Chennai (Tamil Nadu)

Harbinder Singh
08.07.1943
1964, 1968, 1972
All on grass
Indian Railways, Forward
Punjab
*******

Prithipal Singh
28.01.1932 –20.05.1983
1960, 1964, 1968
All on grass
Indian Railways, Defender
Nanka Sahib (Pun.Pak)

*******
Shankar Laxman
28.01.1932 –20.05.1983
1956, 1960, 1964
All on grass
Services, Goalkeeper
Mhow (Madhya Pradesh)

POST INDEPENDENCE (On Natural Grass & Turf )

Ajit Pal Singh
01.04.1947
1968, 1972, 1976
2 on grass, 1 on turf
BSF, Midfielder
Sansarpur (Punjab)
*****

MODERN ERA (On Turf)

Mervyn Fernandis
12.04.1959
1980, 1984, 1988
All on turf
Indian Airlines, Forward
Mumbai

*****

MM Somaya
08.05.1959
1980, 1984, 1988
All on turf
Bharat Petroleum, Midfielder
Mumbai

*******
Md. Shahid
14.04.1960 – 20.07.2016
1980, 1984, 1988
All on turf
Indian Railways, Forward
Varanasi (UP)

*******
Baljeet Singh Dhillon
18.06.1973
1996, 2000, 2004
All on turf
Punjab Police, Forward
Punjab

*******

Pargat Singh
05.03.1965
1988, 1992, 1996
All on turf
Indian Railways, Defender
Mithapur(Punjab)

**********
Mukesh Kumar
16.04.1970
1992, 1996, 2000
All on turf
Indian Airlines, Forward
Hyderabad (Telengana)

**********
Dilip Tirkey
25.11.1981
1996, 2000, 2004
All on turf
Indian Airlines, Defender
(Odisha)

**********

Note: Manpreet Singh, SV Sunil and PR Sreejesh, if selected for the 2020 Olympics, will be adding to the illustrious list of triple hockey Olympians

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www.stick2hockey.com is India’s oldest hockey website. Launched in 1999, the website, edited and owned by hockey historian and author K. ARUMUGAM, has covered all major tournaments and events with precision. www.stick2hockey.com is the first site in the hockey world to bring viewers live text commentary and duly entered the prestigious Limca Book of Records. If vintage stories are what you are looking for, this site is the right one for you. You will also find pictures, some of them among the rarest, images of precious newspaper clippings, match reports, news breaks, interviews, features, statistics and history on a site respected by one and all in the hockey world.