Field hockey at the 1948 Summer Olympics

Olympics 1948 men field hockey competition

Field hockey

at the Games of the XIV Olympiad

Venues| 4
Dates| 31 July – 13 August 1948
No. of events| 1
Competitors| 187 from 13 nations
Teams| 13
Medalists
| |  |  India

|
|

|  |  Great Britain
|  |  Netherlands

<- 1936

1952 ->

The field hockey tournament at the 1948 Summer Olympics was the sixth edition of the field hockey event at the Summer Olympics.[1]

In five Olympic hockey tournaments, there had only been two different winners, but Britain and India had never competed together at the Olympics. There was no question the UK would again be absent at their home Olympics, although there were some organizational difficulties. First of all, the four British nations were independently affiliated with the international federation FIH and were not very keen on cooperating. Also, there were no hockey grounds to train on, as these were used by cricketers during the summer. Still, they managed to put together a team, the first real British hockey team at the Olympics (the 1908 and 1920 champions had been composed entirely of English players). Their captain was the versatile Norman Borrett, a first-class cricketer and national squash champion who once qualified for Wimbledon but didn't have time to compete.

The fixtures were announced on 19 June 1948.[2] Revised fixtures were announced on 28 July.[3] Britain and India were seeded, along with Pakistan and the Netherlands. Pakistan had only separated from India the previous year and made their first Olympic appearance in London. One of the team members, Ali Iqtidar Shah Dara, who had been on the golden Indian team of 1936, captained the Pakistan team in that country's inaugural appearance at the Olympics.[4] All four ranked teams made the semis, although the Brits were held to a goalless draw by Switzerland, and Pakistan crushed the Dutch 6–1 in their group match. The semi-finals were close, and British observers considered the Indians to be lucky to get away with a 2–1 win against the Dutch. With Britain beating Pakistan, the gold medal match would finally see India play the Britons. Completely focused on its defense, Britain was unable to keep up with the fast-paced Indians, and lost the final 4–0. The bronze went to the Netherlands, beating Pakistan 4–2 in a replay of the first 3rd place match, which had ended in a 1–1 draw.[5]

## Participating nations

[edit]

* Afghanistan (14)
* Argentina (12)
* Austria (12)
* Belgium (13)
* Denmark (16)
* France (14)
* Great Britain (12) (H)
* India (20)
* Netherlands (12)
* Pakistan (19)
* Spain (14)
* Switzerland (15)
* United States (14)

(*) NOTE: There are only players counted, which participated in one game at least.
(H) Host

## Squads

[edit]

A total of 187(*) field hockey players from 13 nations competed at the London Games

Main article: Field hockey at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's team squads

## Results

[edit]

### Group stage

[edit]

The top team from each group and also the second-placed team of Group C qualified for the semi-finals.

Ticket for the 1948 Summer Olympics Hockey Match at the Empire Stadium Wembley

#### Group A

[edit]

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  India | 3  | 3  | 0  | 0  | 19  | 1  | +18  | 6  | Semi-finals
2  |  Argentina | 3  | 1  | 1  | 1  | 5  | 12  | −7  | 3  |
3  |  Austria | 3  | 0  | 2  | 1  | 2  | 10  | −8  | 2
4  |  Spain | 3  | 0  | 1  | 2  | 3  | 6  | −3  | 1

Source: FIH

| 31 July 1948

India | 8–0  |  Austria

|
|

Jansen ?', ?', ?', ?'
Singh Babu ?', ?'
Lal ?'
Rodrigues ?' | Report [1] |
John Lyons' Sports Ground
Umpires:
Erik Husted (DEN)
René Lombaert (BEL)

* * *

| 2 August 1948
18:00

Argentina | 3–2  |  Spain

|
|

Márquez 5', 15', 32' | Report [2] | Gasset ?'
Pratsmasó ?'
Polytechnic Sports Ground
Umpires:
Chanu (FRA)
Basir Ali Sheikh (PAK)

* * *

| 4 August 1948
18:00

India | 9–1  |  Argentina

|
|

Lal ?'
Jansen ?', ?'
Balbir Singh Sr. ?', ?', ?', ?', ?', ?' | Report [3] | Márquez ?'
Guinness Sports Ground
Umpires:
Abraham van Donselaar (NED)
Chanu (FRA)

| 4 August 1948
19:30

Austria | 1–1  |  Spain

|
|

Holzapfel ?' | Report | Gasset ?'
Guinness Sports Ground
Umpires:
Rogge (NED)
Oswald Nazareth (PAK)

* * *

| 6 August 1948
18:00

Argentina | 1–1  |  Austria

|
|

Scally 55' | Report | Nowak 15'
Polytechnic Sports Ground
Umpires:
Molhuysen (NED)
Rogge (NED)

| 6 August 1948
19:30

India | 2–0  |  Spain

|
|

Trilochan Singh 10'
Singh Babu 15' | Report [4] |
Polytechnic Sports Ground
Umpires:
Abraham van Donselaar (NED)
Willy Whitelaw (GBR)

#### Group B

[edit]

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Great Britain (H) | 3  | 2  | 1  | 0  | 19  | 0  | +19  | 5  | Semi-finals
2  |  Switzerland | 3  | 1  | 2  | 0  | 4  | 2  | +2  | 4  |
3  |  Afghanistan | 3  | 1  | 1  | 1  | 3  | 9  | −6  | 3
4  |  United States | 3  | 0  | 0  | 3  | 1  | 16  | −15  | 0

Source: FIH
(H) Hosts

| 31 July 1948

Great Britain | 0–0  |  Switzerland

|
|

|  |

* * *

| 3 August 1948

Afghanistan | 2–0  |  United States

|
|

|  |

* * *

| 5 August 1948

Great Britain | 11–0  |  United States

|
|

|  |

| 5 August 1948

Afghanistan | 1–1  |  Switzerland

|
|

Mangal | Report | Grolimund 70'
Lyons Sports Ground
Umpires:
Ali Shaikh (PAK)
Husted (DEN)

* * *

| 7 August 1948

Switzerland | 3–1  |  United States

|
|

|  |

| 7 August 1948

Great Britain | 8–0  |  Afghanistan

|
|

|  |
Lyons Sports Ground
Umpires:
Basir Ali Shaikh (PAK)
Rogge (NED)

#### Group C

[edit]

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Pakistan | 4  | 4  | 0  | 0  | 20  | 3  | +17  | 8  | Semi-finals
2  |  Netherlands | 4  | 3  | 0  | 1  | 11  | 8  | +3  | 6
3  |  Belgium | 4  | 2  | 0  | 2  | 6  | 8  | −2  | 4  |
4  |  France | 4  | 0  | 1  | 3  | 4  | 9  | −5  | 1
5  |  Denmark | 4  | 0  | 1  | 3  | 4  | 17  | −13  | 1

Source: FIH

| 31 July 1948

Denmark | 2–2  |  France

|
|

|  |

| 31 July 1948

Netherlands | 4–1  |  Belgium

|
|

|  |

* * *

| 2 August 1948

Netherlands | 4–1  |  Denmark

|
|

|  |

| 2 August 1948

Pakistan | 2–1  |  Belgium

|
|

Dara
MA Khan | Report | H. Delaval 10'

* * *

| 3 August 1948

Pakistan | 9–0  |  Denmark

|
|

Aziz 5', ?', ?', ?', ?', ?', ?', ?'
Dara | Report |

| 3 August 1948

Netherlands | 2–0  |  France

|
|

|  |

* * *

| 5 August 1948

Belgium | 2–1  |  Denmark

|
|

|  |

| 5 August 1948

Pakistan | 3–1  |  France

|
|

Malik 33'
Dara 38', 53' | Report | Lacroix ?'
Lyons Sports Ground
Umpires:
Cowlishaw (GBR) and Allen (GBR)

* * *

| 7 August 1948

Pakistan | 6–1  |  Netherlands

|
|

Dara 3', ?', ?', ?'
Hamid 3'
Razzaq | Report | Kruize

| 7 August 1948

Belgium | 2–1  |  France

|
|

|  |

## Medal round

[edit]

Final—India v. Great Britain at the Empire Stadium, Wembley, on August 12. India scoring their third goal.

### Bracket

[edit]

| Semi-finals| | Gold medal match

|
|
|

|  |  |  |  |  |

| 9 August| |

|  India| 2

| 12 August

|  Netherlands| 1 |

|  India| 4

| 9 August

| |  Great Britain| 0

|  Great Britain| 2

|  Pakistan| 0 |

| Bronze medal match

| 12 August / 13 August

|  Netherlands (replay)| 1 / 4

|  Pakistan| 1 / 1

### Semi-finals

[edit]

| 9 August 1948

Great Britain | 2–0  |  Pakistan

|
|

White 55'
Adlard 60' | Report |
Wembley Stadium
Umpires:
Jean Weymann (SUI)
Erik Husted (DEN)

* * *

| 9 August 1948

India | 2–1  |  Netherlands

|
|

Jansen 15'
Babu 25' | Report | Bromberg 60'
Wembley Stadium
Umpires:
Alec Allen (GBR)
Reginald Gyles (GBR)

### Bronze medal match

[edit]

| 12 August 1948
16:30

Netherlands | 1–1 (a.e.t.)  |  Pakistan

|
|

Kruize 37' | Report | Hamid 12'
Wembley Stadium
Umpires:
Cowlishaw (GBR)
Allen (GBR)

* * *

| 13 August 1948

Netherlands | 4–1  |  Pakistan

|
|

Boerstra 32'
Bromberg 38'
Kruize
Esser | Report | MA Khan 31'
Lyons Sports Ground
Umpires:
Cowlishaw (GBR)
Allen (GBR)

### Gold medal match

[edit]

| 12 August 1948 (1948-08-12)
18:00

Great Britain | 0–4  |  India

|
|

| Report | Singh Sr. 3', 55'
Jansen 10'
T. Singh 66'
Empire Stadium
Umpires:
Rogge (NED)
René Lombaert (BEL)

## Final standings

[edit]

team India team Netherlands Rank | Team

|

|  India
|  Great Britain
|  Netherlands
4 |  Pakistan
5 |  Argentina
Switzerland
Belgium
8 |  Austria
Afghanistan
France
11 |  Spain
United States
Denmark

## Medal summary

[edit]

Gold  | Silver  | Bronze

|
|

India (IND)

* * *

Leslie Claudius
Keshav Dutt
Walter D'Souza
Lawrie Fernandes
Ranganathan Francis
Gerry Glackan
Akhtar Hussain
Patrick Jansen
Amir Kumar
Kishan Lal (c)
Leo Pinto
Jaswant Singh Rajput
Latif-ur-Rehman
Reginald Rodrigues
Balbir Singh Sr.
Randhir Singh Gentle
Grahanandan Singh
K. D. Singh (vc)
Trilochan Singh
Maxie Vaz |  Great Britain (GBR)

* * *

Robert Adlard
Norman Borrett
David Brodie
Ronald Davis
William Greene
William Griffiths
Edgar Hitchman
Frederick Lindsay
William Lindsay
John Peake
Frank Reynolds
George Sime (c)
Bryn Thomas
Michael Walford
Peter Whitbread
William White
Archie Young[6] |  Netherlands (NED)

* * *

André Boerstra
Henk Bouwman
Piet Bromberg
Harry Derckx
Han Drijver
Dick Esser
Roepie Kruize
Jenne Langhout
Dick Loggere
Ton Richter
Eddy Tiel
Wim van Heel

Note: The International Olympic Committee medal database shows also only these players as medalists. They all played at least one match during the tournament. The reserve players are not listed as medalists.

## See also

[edit]

* Gold (2018 film), about the Indian national hockey team at the 1948 Summer Olympics

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Hockey at the 1948 London Summer Games". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
2. ^ "OLYMPIC HOCKEY FIXTURES". Malaya Tribune. 21 June 1948. p. 7.
3. ^ "HOCKEY DRAW". Malaya Tribune. 29 July 1948. p. 8.
4. ^ "Ali Iqtidar Shah Dara: a shared India-Pakistan legacy". The Friday Times. 2018-09-14. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
5. ^ Mens Hockey at Sports Reference
6. ^ "Our Hockey Correspondent. "Hockey." Times [London, England] 7 July 1948". The Times.

* v
* t
* e

Events at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London

* Athletics
* Basketball
* Boxing
* Canoeing
* Cycling
* Diving
* Equestrian
* Fencing
* Field hockey
* Football
* Gymnastics
* Lacrosse (demonstration)
* Modern pentathlon
* Rowing
* Sailing
* Shooting
* Swimming
* Water polo
* Weightlifting
* Wrestling
* Art competitions (unofficial)

* v
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* e

Field hockey at the Summer Olympics

Tournaments|

* 1896–1904
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Qualifications|

| Men|

* 1992
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|

Women|

* 1988
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Squads|

| Men|

* 1908
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|

Women|

* 1980
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* List of medalists
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51°33′20″N 0°16′47″W﻿ / ﻿51.5556°N 0.2797°W﻿ / 51.5556; -0.2797
*[No.]: Number
*[Pos]: Position
*[Pld]: Played
*[W]: Won
*[D]: Drawn
*[L]: Lost
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
*[GD]: Goal difference
*[Pts]: Points
*[?']: Goal
*[5']: Field goal
*[15']: Field goal
*[32']: Field goal
*[55']: Goal
*[10']: Field goal
*[70']: Field goal
*[33']: Goal
*[38']: Field goal
*[53']: Field goal
*[3']: Field goal
*[60']: Scored from penalty corner
*[25']: Field goal
*[37']: Field goal
*[12']: Field goal
*[31']: Field goal
*[66']: Scored from penalty corner
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