Hockey!!

Hockey is a most popular and interesting game played in many countries. It has been chosen as the national game of India however never got any official declaration. This game has two teams with eleven players in each. Players of a team in this game aimed to make maximum goals against other team by putting a ball into the opponent’s goal post using hockey stick. Our country has made an excellent record in the field of hockey after winning the six Olympic gold medals and various consecutive matches. The period when India won various consecutive hockey matches is called as the golden period (1928 to 1956). Dhyan Chand was a famous hockey player of the golden time and known as the wizard of hockey because of his outstanding achievement.

History and Origin of Hockey

Hockey is an ancient game played for years in India. It is played with a hockey stick and a ball. It was played in Ireland before 1272 BC and during 600 BC in Ancient Greece. There are various variations of the hockey; some of them are named as field hockey, ice hockey, sledge hockey, roller hockey, street hockey, etc. Now-a-days, field hockey is generally played. Ice hockey was evolved as a derivative of field hockey to be played in the icy conditions of Canada and northern United States.

Equipment Needed to Play Hockey

Playing hockey game in safe manner requires some important equipment which are named as helmet, neck guard, shoulder pads, elbow pads, Jockstrap with cup pocket and protective cup (to support or protect male genitals), hockey stick, and a puck or ball.

Forms of Hockey

Other forms of the hockey (derived from hockey or its predecessors) are like air hockey, beach hockey, ball hockey, box hockey, deck hockey, floor hockey, foot hockey, gym hockey, mini hockey, nok Hockey, pond hockey, power hockey, rossall hockey, skater hockey, table hockey, underwater hockey, unicycle hockey and many more.

Future of Hockey in India

As we all know that, the good time of hockey game in India became really over after the golden era of hockey in India. It was due to the lack of interested and talented hockey players as well as required facilities for youths to continue the game in future. It seems that it will never finish and the golden era of hockey will return back because of the love, respect and dedication of Indian youths in this national game. However, it needs a lot of effort, dedication and support by the Indian government to bring golden period of hockey back in India. Hockey India League is planning to implement some effective strategies to expand hockey teams (8 teams by 2016 and 10 teams by 2018). There is a favorable agreement made between Hockey India and Hockey Australia to participate in hockey for the upcoming three seasons (6 match test tournament will take place from 2016 to 2018 in Australia).

Hockey is a national game of India. It is only said so, however not officially declared. Now, it is our responsibility to make it an officially declared national game by bringing its golden period again. It should be highly promoted among students from the school time by providing them all the facilities from the end of teachers, parents and government.Hockey is a game of much importance in India as it is chosen as the national game because it had made India a world champion in hockey many times. This game has a big and bright history as it was deep rooted in India by the brilliant hockey players. It is one of the oldest known sports of India however the root has been weak now because of the lack of talented hockey players and required facilities. This game is considered to be in existence for around 1200 years old before the Ancient Games of Olympia.

Earlier it was played in different variations, however currently it is played as field hockey which was developed in British Isles in 19^th century. It was an English school game however brought to India by British Army regiments. Later, it was spread internationally and got worldwide popularity. In order to govern this game and standardize its rules, London Hockey Association was formed. Later, the International Hockey Federation (in 1924) and International Federation of Women’s Hockey were formed.

First hockey club in India was formed in Calcutta (1885-86). Indian hockey players made their successful Olympic debut in 1928 Amsterdam Games where they won the Olympic gold medal. It happened because of a brilliant Indian hockey legend named Dhyan Chand. He really mesmerized all the Indians in front of the Amsterdam crowd. India continuously won six Olympic gold medals and 24 consecutive hockey matches during its golden era of hockey. Some of the outstanding players of golden era of hockey were Dhyan Chand, Balbir Singh Sr., Ajit Pal Singh, Ashok Kumar, Udham Singh, Dhanraj Pillay, Baboo Nimal, Mohammed Shahid, Gagan Ajit Singh, Leslie Claudius, etc.Hockey is a nice game and mostly liked by the students. In order to bring another golden period for the hockey, it should be promoted in the schools and colleges among students to actively participate. Talented children should be properly trained to play hockey right from the school level. There should be the arrangement of necessary funds and other facilities for students by the government in order to preserve the Indian glory.