Hockey, Men

After their first loss in the 1960 final, 1968 meant a new low for Indian hockey. Their first round loss against New Zealand, in which they allowed more than one goal for the first time, was just an omen for the semi-finals, in which they were beaten by Australia. For the first time since 1928, the subcontinent was not represented in the Olympic hockey final. Like India, Pakistan needed three overtime periods in their semi-final, but they finally prevailed against West Germany. Their opponents for the gold medal, Australia, had three brothers on the team: Eric, Gordon and Julian (a fourth, Mel, was an Olympian in 1956). The Pakistani had Tanvir Dar playing, whose brother Munir Ahmed won the championship in 1960. Australian Brian Glencross tied the score 10 minutes into the second half, but Muhammad Asad Malik decided the match 10 minutes later.

Two other matches caught attention: in the preliminary round, Japan played India. The Indians were awarded a penalty stroke, which angered the Japanese. They walked off the field and forfeited, resulting in a default 5-0 victory for India. The match for fifth place, between Spain and the Netherlands, became the longest Olympic hockey match ever. Going into ten overtimes, it lasted 145 minutes, at which point Dutchman Kik Thole scored the only goal of the game.