Son of the great hockey player Major Dhyan Chand, Ashok Kumar will always be remembered for his goal in India’s victory in the 1975 Hockey World Cup final. However, not many people are aware that Ashok Kumar almost withdrew from India’s World Cup campaign that year.
Journalist Errol D’Cruz and hockey historian K Arumugam have written a book that details this and other fascinating stories.
‘March of Glory’
It was on March 15, 1975, that the Indian men’s hockey team won their first World Cup, making history. To commemorate the momentous victory, a book titled “March of Glory” was published on Tuesday, fifty years later.
The novel commemorates the Golden Jubilee of the momentous accomplishment and depicts the drama surrounding India’s victory in Kuala Lumpur following their second and third-place finishes in the previous two World Cups.
There is historical significance to the World Cup of 1975. With the exception of the 1966 Asian Games, where they took home the gold, India has no more gold after 1964. Additionally, winning a medal was not a huge accomplishment back then. Concerns over hockey’s demise were brought up in the Parliament. The Bridge was informed by Arumugam, the founder of One Thousand Hockey Legs (OTHL), that “1975 gave the belief that hockey is still alive.”
The most upright and modest persons were the hockey players of those eras. They still remember every detail, minute by minute. It is deeply ingrained in their memories,” he continued.
A mentor’s intervention
Arumugam offered a fascinating perspective on Ashok Kumar, the son of renowned hockey player Major Dhyan Chand, who scored the game-winning goal in the 1975 World Cup.
He claimed that if it were not for his coach KD Singh Babu, Ashok Kumar would have missed the World Cup.
Ashok wrote to his instructor KD Singh Babu to ask for his okay after committing to a club in Italy. “When Hitler offered your father a job, he declined and decided to serve his country,” was the response that inspired Ashok, who joined the Indian squad right away.
The 204-page book includes more than 250 rare photos from the event, both on and off the field, as well as more captivating narratives and heart-wrenching situations about the heroes of 1975.
The event was attended by Ashok Kumar, HJS Chimni, Harbinder Singh, Zafar Iqbal, Vineet Kumar, and Dilip Tirkey, president of Hockey India, in addition to around 300 children from OTHL.
