India Sports

Hockey



About Indian Hockey
Hockey, a kind of field sport, is regarded as the "National Game of India". In the history of the Olympic Games, the men's hockey team of India is the most successful team, who has the record of winning 2 medals of bronze, 1 of silver and 8 of gold. However, there is even a women's team named "Indian Women's Hockey Team", who represents the nation in this sport.

Organizing Body of Hockey in India


H. I. or Hockey India is the apex body in this country, which is responsible for the administration and conduction of all the activities related to hockey for both the men's team as well as the women's team in the nation. H. I. was set up on 20th May, 2009. This is a National Association that is recognized and affiliated to the following organizations:

  • A. H. F. or the Asian Hockey Federation
  • F. I. H. or the International Hockey Federation
  • I. O. A. or the Indian Olympic Association
Apart from encouraging on participating in the regular competitions of international level, H. I. along with the assistance of some of the other related organizations like the Department of Sports of the Government of India and the Sports Authority of India plans for the long term improvement of the players and provide global exposure. They aim at making the national teams to be listed among the top 6 hockey teams in the world.

Indian Hockey Teams


As mentioned earlier, following are the 2 major hockey teams in India:
National Mens' Team: This team was the 1st non-European hockey team, which became a division of the International Hockey Federation. The 1st gold medal in the Olympic Games was won by this team in the year 1928. Post that, till 1956, this team of India remained unbeaten. They created history in this field by winning 6 medals of gold medals in a row.

However, this national team lost by 2 - 0 to Britain on 9th March, 2008 at Santiago in Chile. That hockey match was among the Beijing Olympics' 3 qualifying tournaments. Since the year 1928, it was the 1st time, the men's hockey team refrained from participating in games of Olympics.

After 8 years, the date of 26th Feb., 2012 is marked as the date of returning back of this team to the Olympics as on this date, they got selected for the Summer Olympics of 2012 in London. In the final qualifying tournament of the Olympics 2012, this team gained victory over France.

National Womens' Team: Under the captainship of Suraj Lata Devi, this Indian hockey team won gold medals for 3 years at a stretch. Details of those hockey matches in concern are as follows:

  • I.Commonwealth Games of 2002
  • II.Afro - Asian Games of 2003
  • III.Hockey Asia Cup of 2004
However, during the Olympic qualifier match for the Women's Field Hockey in 2008, the team lost to the United States or U. S. by 2 - 1. This made the team get eliminated from the Olympics, which was held in Beijing. The date of 27th June of the year 2009, in the history of hockey, is marked for winning the women's Champions Challenge II for the 1st time. Belgium was defeated there by them at Kazan in Russia by 6 - 3.

Last Updated on 26/06/2012