The Pakistan national hockey team has a special place in the hearts of people all over the world. It was the first Asian country to qualify for the Olympics, and it remains one of the only two hockey nations to do so (the other being Germany). The country has also produced some of the greatest players of all time, such as Imran Khan and Muhammad Ali, both of whom played at the 2018 Men’s Hockey World Cup in London.
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Pakistan’s Historic Qualifications
In April 1951, Pakistan became the fifth country to qualify for the Olympics with a win over New Zealand in the final of the hockey series. Up until that point, the only other Asian countries to have made it to the Summer Games were South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, and India. The following month, Pakistan competed in the Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland and went down in history by winning the first ever Olympic gold medal in hockey.
Four years later, at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, Pakistan again won gold in the men’s hockey tournament. This time, the team notched up five silvers and a bronze to boot.
World Cup Winners
Since their first international competition in 1969, Pakistani teams have gone on to win the World Cup of Hockey three times: in 1978, 1982, and 2010. If you include the 1991 world junior championship in which Pakistan took bronze, the country has won the tournament on five occasions.
The most recent triumph came in 2018, when the Pakistan men’s hockey team defeated India 4-2 in the final to claim their third World Cup title. The victory, which came a few months after defeating Germany 4-2 in the EuroHockey Nations Cup final, marked the end of a 35-year wait for global glory for the storied hockey club.
Other World Cup Qualifications
Although Pakistan has only qualified for the World Cup of Hockey three times, it finished third in the 1973 edition of the tournament, just behind eventual winners Russia and Czechoslovakia. As well as claiming bronze in 1991, the country also recorded a fourth-place finish in 1986.
More recently, Pakistan has qualified for the Asian Games, with the nation having represented the continent four times. In addition to the 2018 gold medal in men’s hockey, the country also earned bronze in 1982 and 1986. Pakistan has also competed in three hockey events at the Commonwealth Games, most recently in 2018.
The team has also qualified for the Asian Indoor Games, with it having represented the continent on four occasions. The most recent appearance came in 2012, and the games are usually held in the indoor venues of the countries that host the Summer Olympics.
Olympic Record
Since its inception, the Pakistan national hockey team has gone on to win the gold medal in the 1951, 1956, and 1960 Olympics as well as the first ever Asian Hockey Champions Trophy in 1960. As well as its achievements at the Olympics and World Cups, Pakistan has also won the Champions Trophy in the absence of the competition’s official recognition.
To put these numbers into context, it is important to remember that throughout this time, the nation has never been recognized as independent by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). This came about in June 2018, when the body finally granted Pakistan full membership, having previously recognized it as British India.
For a comprehensive overview of Pakistan’s hockey history, check out our in-depth history page, which covers the entire timeline of the game in the country. You can also learn about the rich tradition of Asian hockey and the historic background of the game in Pakistan.