The photograph below was taken at Amsterdam on May 17, 1928. It shows the Indian team which trounced Austria 6-0 in its Olympic debut en route to winning the first ever Gold Medal for an Asian country in the Olympic Games. The photograph and the accompanying text are taken from the second issue of Pargat Singh's Inside Hockey - Asia's first hockey magazine. It is entitled "They Came, They Saw, They Conquered."
Fullback Jaipal Singh, the Oxford University star, was named captain of the Indian team. Jaipal had a first class degree from his native Ranchi, and was a student of Balliol College. Although Jaipal played in 3 Olympic matches, the Indian team was captained in the opening match and in the final by Eric Penniger, a sturdy centre-half from the Punjab.
Goalkeeper Richard Allen, then 26, was a native of Nagpur and had been working for the Calcutta Port Commissioners since 1921. In Amsterdam, his special feat was to go through the entire tournament without conceding a goal.
The centre-forward without equal, was the great Dhyan Chand, then 22, and a Lance Naik in the 41st Punjab Regiment of the Indian Army. He scored 14 of India's 29 goals in Amsterdam, including 4 in India's inaugural game against Austria.
Rex Norris from Bangalore was employed by the Great Indian Peninsular Railway. He later achieved much success as a coach in Europe. On Norris' left is right fullback Michael Rocque, who learnt his hockey at Nagpur's Francis de Sales. Kneeling on the right is Fred Seaman, a United Provinces player who later moved to Calcutta.
India's remaining player was dapper inside-forward Feroze Khan from the Punjab, who later joined Bombay Customs before moving to Pakistan. Feroze got 5 of India's 9 goals against Belgium. These were the players who set the standards for India's Olympic exploits of the future.
And when the team won the Olympic Gold, the following despatch arrived in Amsterdam. "PLEASE CONVEY TO JAIPAL SINGH AND ALL MEN OF HIS TEAM MY HEARTIEST CONGRATULATIONS ON THEIR MAGNIFICIENT VICTORY." The despatch was sent by Lord Irwin, the Viceroy of India.
