1952 Helsinki Olympics

India beat Austria 4-0 and Great Britain 3-1 in the knockout matches en route to the finals. Holland challenged the Olympics champions but lost 1-6, and India won the hockey crown for the 5th time in a row.
Balbir Singh Sr. scored 9 goals of the 13 scored by India at Helsinki, including 5 of the 6 goals in the final. Chinnadorai Desamuthu became the youngest gold medallist for India. He was 19 years and 272 days when India won the Olympic title in the Helsinki Games.
India's hockey captain K. D. Singh 'Babu' received the Helms Trophy in 1953 for being the best hockey player in the world (1952) and the best sportsman of Asia (1953). This was the first time an Asian was awarded the Helms Trophy - America's Nobel Prize in Sports. Ten years later, in 1963, another Indian star Milkha Singh would received the Helms Trophy for being the best quarter-miler in the world.
Babu's artistry, craftsmanship and creative instincts saw him blossom into one of the finest inside-rights that India has produced. His ball and body control was instinctive, a sort of sixth sense. Babu, an all-time great hockey player of India committed suicide in April 1978. The main sports stadium of Lucknow is named the K. D. Singh (Babu) Stadium in his memory.
India's record in the 1952 Olympics at Helsinki was as follows :

Photo Courtesy Balbir Singh Sr.'s Personal Collection