There was joy everywhere for us in playing hockey, says Ashok Kumar, who scored 1975 World Cup winning goal

Fifty years ago, Ashok Kumar scripted arguably one of the finest moments in Indian sporting history - scoring a match-winning goal against Pakistan in the final of the 1975 World Cup hockey in Kuala Lumpur

HYDERABAD: Fifty years ago, Ashok Kumar scripted arguably one of the finest moments in Indian sporting history – scoring a match-winning goal against Pakistan in the final of the 1975 World Cup hockey in Kuala Lumpur.

Looking back in an exclusive chat with ‘Telangana Today’, the 74-year-old Ashok takes pride in reminding that he played like Ashok Kumar and not being there as a son of his illustrious father Dhyan Chand.

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“Yes, I feel great even now when fans, especially abroad, come and meet me when I am introduced as Dhyan Chand’s son. You don’t believe that when we won the 1975 World Cup, all my dad did was just tap four times on my shoulder in appreciation. Not a single word. Yes, there were days when he took a ‘class’ whenever we lost the big games,” says Ashok Kumar with a big smile.

“Yes, the game those days was pure artistry and it was a different ball game on astro-turf. There was a systematic approach to the whole objective of winning the games,” Ashok, who was also a member of the 1973 World Cup silver medal winning Indian team. “There was joy everywhere for us in playing and for the spectators too, for such was the high standard of the game,” he said.

“It is a pity that fitness is the top priority and the rest are secondary. In our times, only the forwards were expected to maintain the minimum fitness levels, then the half-line followed in this regard. The defence was least focused on fitness as they rarely moved upfront except for taking penalty-corners,” Ashok Kumar said.

“Well, now-a-days, penalty-corner conversion is the biggest area of focus as most of the goals come from there. Very rarely do I see artistry and field goals,” he said.

Being more specific on the defining moment – 1975 World Cup win, Ashok Kumar felt the commentary of the “great Jasdev Singh on AIR” made the Indian team’s victory even more popular across India.

“I doubt how many would have been there to receive us if we were to lose in the World Cup final,” he said with a big laugh. “Definitely, that World Cup victory gave us a lot of respect across India, adulation, a new direction and big hope to Indian hockey,” said Ashok Kumar, one of the all-time greats of the sport. “We were told that the entire India was shut down as it was following that final,” he recalled with a sense of joy and pride.

“No doubt, that victorious Indian team was truly an all-time great combination which had such stalwarts led by the great Ajitpal Sigh,” he said. “Yes, it was great when this World Cup team was felicitated in Delhi a couple of days ago, nostalgic memories for sure for all of us,” Ashok Kumar concluded.