Via Indian Express
Hockey is believed to date back to some of the earliest civilizations, such as the
Arabs, Greeks, Persians, and Romans. It is an outdoor game played by two opposing teams
of 11 players, each of who uses sticks that are curved at the end to strike a hard ball into their
opponent’s goal. It is called field hockey to distinguish it from the similar game played on ice
(ice hockey).
Field hockey began its journey in English schools in the late 19th century. Teddington,
a London club was instrumental in the formation of hockey, introducing several major
changes, such as the ban on using hands or lifting sticks above the shoulder, the replacement
of a rubber cube with a sphere ball and the adoption of a striking circle, which were all added
into the rules of the Hockey Association in London in 1886.
As we all know, several countries were under British rule, and therefore the British
army was largely responsible for spreading the game, especially in India. International
competition has started in 1895 and by 1928, hockey had become India’s national sport.
During the ‘golden era’ of Indian hockey, between 1928 and 1936, where they finished their
3 Olympic games with 3 consecutive gold medals and a stunning goal ratio of 97:3.
However, after 1960, India’s reign over field hockey started to loosen, leading to a decline in
their performance until 1998, when they won their first continental title after 32 years at
the 1998 Asian games, and collected a bronze medal at the 1999 Asia Cup. It seemed that
the Indian hockey team was steadily building up momentum, however in 2007, India
slumped to their lowest ever international ranking of 12 and failed to qualify for 2008
Beijing Olympics for the first time.
After their disappointment in the Olympics, the 2014 Asian games became a turning
point for the team, defeating Pakistan to win their 3 rd gold medal. In 2014-15
Hockey World League, India won bronze by defeating the Netherlands. They also won the Asian
Champions Trophy in 2016 by defeating Pakistan and the 2017 Asian Cup by defeating
Malaysia. Finally, in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics India finished with a bronze medal, securing a
historic win, as the Indian Hockey team won a medal in Olympics after a gap of 41 years. In
the ongoing FIH Hockey Pro League (2021-22), India stands at the top of the table, with 27
points, 10 more than Germany, which is the 2nd in the table.