1936 Indian olympic hockey team in Berlin
INDIA won olymipic gold medal.

• Asia's first Olympic gold medal was won by the 1928 Indian Olympic hockey team. After the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, an awe-struck Dutch journalist wrote "The Indian ball seems ignorant of the laws of gravity. One of those tanned diabolical jugglers stares at the ball intently; it gets upright and remains suspended in the air. This is no longer the game of hockey. It is a juggling turn. It is splendid."

• After the 1932 Olympics, the Los Angeles sports journalists voted the Indian hockey team's showing as "the most outstanding exhibition of skill in any sport in the Olympics." A cartoon published in the Evening News of India showed Dhyan Chand's stick in the form of a cobra, and Dhyan Chand whistling in front of it like a snake charmer. The Viceroy of India sent a cable congratulating the Olympic champions. It read, "I am delighted to learn of the splendid victory of our hockey team. Please give all members of the side my warm congratulations upon retaining the world championship."

• In the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Dhyan Chand, who was the captain of the team, had the distinction of scoring 11 out of 38 goals scored by his side. The Fuhrer(HITLER) was very impressed by Dhyan Chand's performance in the final, where India whipped Germany 8-1 in front of 40,000 fans. At a dinner party after the final, Hitler offered to elevate Dhyan Chand to the rank of a Colonel if he migrated to Germany. Ever the patriot, Dhyan Chand turned down the offer.

• Dhyan Chand was to hockey what Bradman is to cricket and Pele is to football. Dhyan Chand scored over a thousand goals in a career spanning 1926-1948. The ultimate tribute was paid to him by a sports club in Vienna, which built a statue of Dhyan Chand with four hands and four sticks. To those Viennese, no ordinary man with two hands and one stick could have played so well.

• The first sporting achievement of independent India was the 1948 Olympic hockey gold medal. Over 25,000 spectators watched the 1948 Olympic hockey final between India and Britain, played at Wembley. This was the first time that India and Britain played an official hockey match, and India went on to beat Britain 4-0. That was the first time that India's national flag was displayed and India's national anthem, Jana Gana Mana, was played at an Olympic venue.

• England introduced both cricket and hockey to India. While it took 20 years and 15 matches before India beat England in cricket for the first time (1952 test in Chennai), it took 37 years and 22 matches before England beat India in hockey for the first time (Britain 2 - India 1, 1985 Champions Trophy in Perth). As long as England ruled India, they never played a match with the Indian hockey team.

• India has won a grand total of 8 Olympic gold medals in hockey – in no other sport has India won even an Olympic silver medal, let alone the gold. India holds the records for the largest victory margin in an Olympic final (India 8 - Germany 1 in the 1936 Olympic final), the largest victory margin in a pool match (India 24 - USA 1 in the 1932 Olympics), and the largest number of consecutive victories (30 wins on the trot from 1928 to 1960).