An Indian field hockey team toured the

Federation of Malaya The Federation of Malaya ( ms, Persekutuan Tanah Melayu; Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of what previously had been British Malaya comprising eleven states (nine Malay states and two of the British Empire, British Straits Settlements, P ...

and the Colony of Singapore between 11 February and 10 March 1954. The Indian Hockey Federation XI (IHF XI) played 16 games out of which three were international fixtures. India won all 16 matches, scoring a total of 121 goals. Captain of the touring side

Balbir Singh Sr. Balbir Singh Dosanjh (31 December 1923 – 25 May 2020) was an Indian hockey player and coach. He was a three-time Olympic gold medallist, having played a key role in India's wins in London (1948), Helsinki (1952) (as vice captain), and Mel ...

finished with most goals (44), while Susainathan scored 25 and vice-captain

Randhir Singh Gentle Randhir Singh Gentle (September 22, 1922 – September 25, 1981) was an Indian field hockey player and coach. He was a part of the Indian team that won three consecutive gold medals in the Summer Olympics, from 1948 to 1956. Gentle is one am ...

, 14.

Background

The idea of inviting an India team to Malaya was first mooted in 1949 and officially expressed by G. E. N. Oehlers, then president of the Malayan Hockey Council (MHC). In November 1952, the MHC wrote to the Government of India inviting a team in 1954. It suggested that the touring side include five or six national team players and that the side play nine games in Malaya and three in Singapore. However, this was the second tour of Malaya by an Indian team; the first by the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics gold-winning national team that had toured the same year just before the Olympic Games. They played All-Malaya XI and beat them 7–0.

Squad

A 16-member Indian squad for the tour was named on 30 October 1953.

was named captain of the side and

, the vice-captain. The squad included six players from the team that won gold at the

1952 Helsinki Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

. The squad arrived on 9 February 1954. The touring squad included: ;Key GK = Goalkeeper, FB =

Fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

, HB = Halfback, FW =

Forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

Fixtures

---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- *''Match was stopped after 25 and 65 minutes of play respectively due to rain.

References

{{reflist 1954 in Malayan sport 1954 in Indian sport February 1954 sports events in Asia March 1954 sports events in Asia Field hockey competitions in Malaysia Field hockey in Singapore

Background

Squad

Fixtures

See also

References