Ashok Kumar scored the goal that won India its only hockey World Cup. In the 1975 final in Kuala Lumpur his shot gave India a 2-1 win over Pakistan, and it completed a set: he had already won bronze at the 1971 World Cup and silver in 1973. He was the son of Dhyan Chand, and he carried that name through a career that also brought Olympic bronze at Munich in 1972.
Name: Ashok Kumar (also known as Ashok Dhyan Chand)
Born: 1 June 1950, Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Sport: Hockey
Position: Inside forward
Growing up as Dhyan Chand’s son
Ashok Kumar was born in Moradabad on 1 June 1950. By then his father was the most famous hockey player in the world, and his uncle Roop Singh had won two Olympic golds of his own. Ashok grew up around the game but has often said his father never pushed him into it. He played as an inside forward, a quick, neat dribbler who liked to carry the ball and set up chances.
World Cups: bronze, silver, gold
The hockey World Cup began in 1971 and Ashok Kumar played in the first three. India took bronze at Barcelona in 1971. At Amstelveen in 1973 India reached the final and lost to the Netherlands on penalty strokes after a 2-2 draw.
Kuala Lumpur in 1975 was the high point. India, captained by Ajit Pal Singh, beat Malaysia in a tight semi-final and met Pakistan in the final. With the score at 1-1, Ashok Kumar’s shot crossed the line and the umpire gave the goal despite Pakistani protests that the ball had come back off the post. It stood, India won 2-1, and it remains the country’s only World Cup title in men’s hockey.
Olympics and Asian Games
At the 1972 Munich Olympics India lost the semi-final to Pakistan and then beat the Netherlands for bronze. Ashok also played at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, the first played on artificial turf, where India finished seventh, its worst Olympic result to that point. He won silver with India at the 1974 Asian Games in Tehran.
After playing
He worked for Indian Airlines and stayed close to the game after retiring, speaking often about the decline of Indian hockey on grass and its later revival. The Arjuna Award came in 1974.
Career record and honours
- World Cup gold medal: Kuala Lumpur 1975, scoring the winning goal in the final
- World Cup silver medal: Amstelveen 1973
- World Cup bronze medal: Barcelona 1971
- Olympic bronze medal: Munich 1972
- Olympic appearance: Montreal 1976
- Asian Games silver medal: Tehran 1974
- Arjuna Award (1974)
