Immensely desirable winner's medal awarded to Indian field hockey player Peter Paul Fernandes at the Berlin 1936 Summer Olympics. Gilt silver, 57 mm, 73 gm, by Giuseppi Cassioli. The front is inscribed “XI. Olympiad, Berlin, 1936” and features a ‘Seated Victory’ with the Coliseum in the background; the reverse portrays a winner carried by jubilant athletes; and the bottom edge is stamped "B. H. Mayer, Pforzheim, 990." The medal bears some instances of rubbing to the gilt, as well as light wear to the rim and edges.
Fernandes became the first Goan in Olympic history to win a gold medal when he competed on the British Indian team as a left-sided forward at the Berlin Games of 1936. Although he found himself behind free-scoring teammates Dhyan Chand and Roop Singh in the depth chart, Fernandes played in two of the group stage matches and contributed two goals in the team’s 9-0 win over then-undefeated Japan. The Indian team entered the medal rounds as overwhelming favorites and they did not disappoint, crushing France (10-0) and Germany (8-1) to claim their straight gold medal finish.
This victory coincided with India’s historic three-decade run of 30 straight Olympic match victories, which culminated in six straight gold medals before they lost their first match in the final of the Rome 1960 Games. So dominant were they at times, during the 1928 and 1956 Olympics, they reached the top of the medal podium without conceding a single goal. India's field hockey team remains the most successful in Olympic history, with eight gold medals - in 1928, 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1964, and 1980. A tremendously sought-after winner's medal from the controversial 1936 Berlin Olympics.
