Defending champions Pakistan were forced to field their second eleven following the suspension of the team for unsporting behaviour during the medal ceremony at the 1972 Munich Olympics final, which they lost 0-1 to West Germany. The life ban was revoked in 1974 after an apology from the highest level and the 13 players in the Olympics final were banned for two years.

Pakistan's second string, however, did a commendable job, topping the preliminary pool with four victories and a draw. The Netherlands finished runners-up in Group B with three wins, one draw and one defeat, followed by England, Belgium, Malaysia and Argentina.

In Pool A, India went through the league as they had done in 1971, unbeaten. They beat Spain 2-0, Kenya 4-0 and Japan 5-0, and drew 1-1 with New Zealand and 0-0 with West Germany.

In the pool matches, Pakistan scored the most goals -- 16 -- followed by New Zealand with 13 and India, 12.

As in the 1971 World Cup, India and Pakistan were destined to meet in the semi-finals. This time, however, the result was in India's favour. Centre forward Bilimoga Puttaswamy Govinda dribbled through a host of defenders in the 62nd minute to beat Pakistani 'keeper Munir Pervez and give India a place in the final.

In the other semi-final, the Netherlands beat West Germany 4-3 on penalty strokes after the teams were locked goalless at the end of extra-time.

The final between India and the Netherlands was a classic. The Dutch were off to a whirlwind start within five minutes when their penalty-corner expert, Ties Kruize, converted one. India responded in similar fashion, with their own penalty-corner expert Surjeet Singh scoring twice. But Kruize equalized from another penalty corner. The match ended 2-2 after 70 minutes and extra-time was played.

With 31 seconds to go, India had a chance to clinch the title. They were awarded a penalty stroke. After much deliberation, it was decided that Govinda should take the stroke despite him having missed one in the 0-0 draw with West Germany in the league stage. He stepped up and pushed. Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Sikking brought off a remarkable save. Then came the tiebreaker. Govinda failed again, and so did Harcharan Singh. The Netherlands converted their first four strokes to win 4-2.

The tournament will be remembered for Sikking's goalkeeping. If Holland won the title, it was because of him. He was just too good in the tiebreakers, in the semi-final against West Germany and in the final against India.

Ties Kruize was the top scorer in the tournament, with 11 goals. Pakistan emerged the highest-scoring team with 16 goals.

In the battle for third place, West Germany scraped past Pakistan 1-0.

Final Positions
1.	The Netherlands
2.	India
3.	West Germany
4.	Pakistan
5.	Spain
6.	England
7.	New Zealand
8.	Belgium
9.	Argentina
10.	Japan
11.	Malaysia
12.	Kenya