Designed to extend the sport beyond the Olympics, Hockey World Cup he is now an independent prime minister hockey event in the world for both men and women.
While the Olympics are still considered Blue Riband events, the Hockey World Championships have carved out a place of their own alongside the Summer Games over the years.
The men’s hockey world championship was the first to begin with the inaugural edition held in Barcelona, ??Spain in 1971. By the way, the 1971 event was originally supposed to be held in Pakistan, but was later moved to Spain due to political conflict in Asia at this moment.
Although they lost their hosting rights, Pakistan emerged as the first men’s hockey world cup winners after defeating Spain in the final of the 10-team tournament.
At one point, it seemed Pakistan would fail to make it past the group stage as the Netherlands were expected to defeat Japan in the final Group B match which would see Pakistan eliminated from the tournament.
However, Japan won 1-0 against the Netherlands, giving the eventual champions a new lease of life. Pakistan’s hockey team, the then Asian and Olympic champions, took full advantage of the opportunity to beat arch-rivals India 2-1 in the semi-finals before defeating the hosts 1-0 in the final thanks to an Akhtarul Islam goal.
Pakistan is also the most successful nation in the men’s hockey world championship, winning four titles (1971, 1978, 1982 and 1994). The Netherlands and Australia have each won three World Cups. Germany is the only other team to have won multiple Hockey World Cup titles – two.
Meanwhile, India struggled in the contest.
Despite record-breaking eight-time Olympic champions, The Indian hockey team he has only won one World Cup title. India’s lone triumph came in 1975 in Kuala Lumpur under the command of Ajit Pal Singh. The team was managed by the legendary Balbir Singh Sr.
In the 1975 final, India defeated Pakistan 2-1 with Ashok Kumar, the son of Indian hockey wizard Dhyan Chand, scoring the winning goal.
Belgium is the reigning FIH World Cup men’s champion, having won the 2018 edition held in Bhubaneswar, India.
List of men’s ice hockey world cup winners
Meanwhile, the first edition of the women’s hockey world championship was held in the Netherlands in 1974. The Netherlands became the inaugural women’s hockey world champion after beating Argentina 1-0 in the final.
The Netherlands have dominated the Women’s Hockey World Championship and are the most successful team in the competition with nine titles (1974, 1978, 1983, 1986, 1990, 2006, 2014, 2018, 2022). They are also the current champions.
Apart from the Dutch, only three other teams, Argentina, Australia and Germany, have ever won the FIH Women’s World Cup. Everyone has two titles to their credit.
India’s best-ever performance at the Women’s Hockey World Championship came in the inaugural edition in 1974, where they finished fourth. This is their only semi-final appearance to date.
