Akshay Kumar's Gold: All you need to know about independent India's first Olympic gold

Akshay Kumar is currently in London shooting for Reema Kagti's Gold. The film, which marks the Bollywood debut of television actor Mouni Roy, went on floors on Saturday. Gold also features Kunal Kapoor and Amit Sadh in key roles, and is scheduled to release on Independence Day next year.

The film will bring to celluloid the story of independent India's first Olympic gold win.

Here's what you need to know before you see Gold on the big screen:

1. The Indian men's hockey team won the country's first Olympic medal as a free nation in 1948 at the 14th London Olympiad.

2. The London Olympics was the first Olympics held post World War II. It was held after a gap of 12 years, with the previous one being the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

3. The India team that played in the London Olympics was a brand new one, with all the great players from the earlier gold-winning team, including top goal scorer Dhyan Chand, having retired.

4. The captain of the new team was Kishen Lal, with KD Singh (Babu) being the vice-captain. This was the first time when India marched holding the tricolour, as a free nation, in the opening ceremony at the Wembley Stadium.

5. India played its first match against Austria. The Indian team beat the Austrian team hollow, with the scorecard reading 8-0. They went on to defeat Argentina 9-1. India was victorious against Spain in the quarterfinal (2-0) and against Holland in the semi-final (2-1). The final match was played against Britain.

6. Indians took on their former rulers and won in style, defeating the British 4-0.

7. This was the fourth consecutive gold medal for India in the sport, and its first as an independent nation.

8. After the Indian team's victory, free India's first High Commissioner to England, VK Krishna Menon, gave the players an official reception at India House. The team was also sent on a fortnight-long goodwill tour of Europe, where they visited France, Czechoslovakia and Switzerland.

9. Incidentally, Pakistan was also contesting as a free nation for the first time, and there were strong chances of an India-Pakistan final. However, Britain defeated Pakistan in the semi-final and went on to play India in the final match.

10. When the victorious team returned to the country, they received a grand welcome. The victory celebrations went on for days and came to an end in Delhi, where Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and President Rajendra Prasad attended the winning team's exhibition match at the National Stadium.

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