Bangalore, Jul 23: Here is a brief look at the previous Olympic Games. After winning the gold for the eighth time at the marred 1980 Games, the slide of Indian hockey at the Games continued till 2008, when the team failed to qualify for the Games!

London Olympics Special

1984 Los Angeles Games

India were clubbed in Group A with Australia, West Germany, Spain, Malaysia and USA. Zafar Iqbal was India's captain that year.

India beat USA 5-1, Malaysia 3-1, Spain 4-2, lost to Australia 2-4 and drew 0-0 with West Germany and finished at seven points from five matches at the end of the group stage. India failed to make it to the semifinals by a whisker after drawing with the West Germans in the last league match. West Germany reached the semifinals on a better goal difference. India beat New Zealand 1-0 and the Netherlands 5-2 in the classification matches to finish fifth that year. Pakistan were the champions while West Germany won the silver. Great Britain won the bronze.

1988 Seoul Games

India were in Pool B with Germany, Great Britain, Soviet Union, Canada and Korea. The team was led by Somayya Maneypande.

India lost to Soviet Union 0-1, drew with Germany 1-1, beat Korea 3-1 and Canada 5-0 before going down to Great Britain 0-3 to finish at 5 points after the group stage. They beat Argentina in the classification matches but lost to Pakistan 1-2 to finish sixth in the tournament. Great Britain won the gold by beating Germany while the Netherlands won the bronze.

1992 Barcelona Games

India were clubbed with Australia, Great Britain, Germany, Argentina and Egypt in Pool A at the Barcelona Games. India were led by Pargat Singh.

In the group stages, India lost to Germany 0-3, beat Argentina 1-0, lost to Great Britain 1-3, drew Australia 0-0 and beat Egypt 2-1. India finished with four points in five matches and scored just four goals, one of its poorest shows at the Olympics. In the classification matches, India lost to Spain 0-2 and beat New Zealand 3-2 to finish seventh. Germany were the champions that year while Australia won the silver. Pakistan won the bronze.

1996 Atlanta Olympics

India were placed in Group A which also had Spain, Germany, Pakistan, Argentina and the USA. The matches were played at Morris brown College Stadium. Pargat Singh was the skipper of the team at the Atlanta Games as well.

India lost to Argentina 0-1, drew Germany 1-1, beat the USA 4-0, drew with Pakistan 0-0 and beat Spain 3-1 to finish at 5 points from 5 games. In the classification matches, India lost to Korea 3-5 in penalty shoot-out and Great Britain 3-4 to finish eighth at the Olympics, their all-time low rank. The Netherlands, Spain and Australia were the medal winners in that respect.

2000 Sydney Olympics

India were in Group A with Australia, South Korea, Argentina, Poland and Spain. Ramandeep Singh was India's skipper.

India beat Argentina 3-0, drew Australia 2-2, lost to South Korea 0-2, beat Spain 3-2 and drew Poland 1-1 in the group matches. India's eight points from five matches were at par with South Korea yet the latter went through to the semifinals for having beaten India 2-0. In the classification matches, India lost to Great Britain 1-2 but beat Argentina 3-1 to finish seventh. The Netherlands beat South Korea to win gold while Australia won the bronze.

2004 Athens Olympics

India were clubbed with the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina in Pool B. Dilip Tirkey led the Indian side.

India lost to the Netherlands 1-3, beat South Africa 4-2, lost to Australia 3-4, New Zealand 1-2 and drew with Argentina 2-2. India finished fourth in the group with four points from five matches. In the classification matches, India was trounced 3-0 by Pakistan but they came back to beat Korea 5-2 to get the seventh spot. Australia, the Netherlands and Germany won the gold, silver and bronze, respectively.

2008 Beijing Games

India went down to Great Britain 0-2 in the final of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2 played at Santiago, Chile and failed to earn an Olympic berth. In the qualifying tournament, India beat Russia 8-0, Austria 7-3, Mexico 18-1, lost to Great Britain 2-3 and beat Chile 4-1. Germany, Spain and Australia were the top three teams at the Olympics that year. Failing to qualify for the Olympics was the full circle for a team which had ruled world hockey with elan once.

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