When was the last time the Indian Hockey team won a gold medal at the Olympics? 

The last time India won an Olympic gold medal was in Moscow in 1980 in the men's category. The Indian men's team has won a total of eight gold medals so far, but in the last 44 years, they have not finished on top of the podium even once.

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021), India ended their 41-year-long wait for a medal in hockey when they won bronze.

As far as the 1980 Moscow Olympics is concerned, the Indian team was on top of its game throughout. In the preliminary round, they finished second on the table with eight points and a goal difference of +33, thanks to wins in three out of five matches. Only Spain finished above them on the table with nine points and a goal difference of +30.

---

India’s road to glory in Moscow

India began their campaign with a thumping 18-0 win over Tanzania. Davinder Singh and Vasudevan Baskaran were the top performers for India as they scored four goals apiece. Thereafter, they drew their second match 2-2 against Poland. Davinder found the back of the net once again, but could not take India to victory.

Surinder Singh Sodhi scored twice as India drew 2-2 against Spain. India returned to their best after they hammered Cuba 13-0 to reach the last four. Surinder continued his impressive form by scoring four goals in the match. India continued their winning momentum as they beat hosts Soviet Union 4-2 in the semi-finals.

The gold medal match between India and Spain was expected to be a closely fought affair and it did. Surinder scored three goals as India beat Spain 4-3 in the final at the Minor Arena, Dynamo Stadium.

Surinder was the pick of the players for India in the tournament. He finished as the second-highest goal-scorer of the championship with 14 goals to show for his efforts.

​