The winning goal was scored by Ashok Kumar, the son of great Indian hockey player Major Dhyan Chand.

India won the Hockey World Cup with a historic 2-1 victory! Unfortunately, the kind of momentum the win was supposed to bring to Indian hockey never materialised. Despite being domestic powerhouses and routinely medaling in the Olympics and Asian Games, the Men in Blue failed to carry their success to the World Cup and have never reached the competition's semi-finals since. India's greatest results at the men's hockey World Cup since its 1975 success are two fifth-place finishes in 1982 and 1994. In the most recent Hockey World Cup, which was also held in India, the team finished 6th. In the 2018 World Cup, India finished ahead of Belgium, Canada, and South Africa to win Pool C and advance directly to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, though, they were eliminated 1-2 by the Netherlands.

India’s performance in the Hockey World Cup over the years

1971 – 3rd place

1973 - Runners–up

1975 - India (Champions)

1798 – 6th Place

1982 - 5th place

1986 – 12th place

1990 – 10th place

1994 – 5th place

1998 – 9th place

2002- 10th place

2006 - 11th place

2010 - 8th place

2014- 9th place

2018 – 6th place