How did the Indian Hockey team perform at 1996 Olympics?
The hockey events of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta took place from July 20 to August 2. The Herndon Stadium and the Panther Stadium in the city staged the hockey games in the competition.
The continental champions from five federations, previous Olympic and World champions received a direct qualification, while the other five teams made an entry through the Qualifier tournament. After winning a silver in the qualification event, the Indian team made a cut for the 12-team tournament.
India were placed along Spain, Germany, Pakistan, Argentina and the United States in Pool A. The first game witnessed the Pargat Singh-led side lose 0-1 to Argentina.
In the following encounter, India played out a 1-1 draw against Germany, with Mukesh Kumar Nandanoori being the goal-scorers. Then, the Indian team thrashed the hosts, United States 4-0. Ramandeep Singh and Sanjeev Kumar scored a goal each, while Dhanraj Pillay scored a brace.
India's fourth game of the 1996 Olympics saw them settle for a 0-0 draw against Pakistan, as none of the teams could break the deadlock. The result put their semifinal qualification hopes in jeopardy.
In their final fixture, India secured an impressive 3-1 victory against Spain. Gavin Ferreira scored a brace, while Sabu Varkey scored the other goal.
The final points table saw India finish on the third position in their pool with two wins in five games, rendering them unable to seal the semi-final spot.
In the fifth to eight place classification games, India played out a 3-3 draw in regulation time against South Korea, but faced a 3-5 loss in the penalty shootout. They ended the game with another 3-4 loss against Great Britain and finished eighth at 1996 Olympics.
Netherlands won their maiden Hockey gold medal at 1996 Olympics
The semifinals witnessed Spain overcoming the challenge of Australia with a scoreline of 2-1, while the Netherlands won 3-1 against Germany.
The Dutch side prevailed 3-1 over Spain in the final to win their first-ever hockey gold medal at the Olympics.