Article on Field Hockey

Introduction

Hockey is the match of glorious and dignity. 
The game of hockey is exist as the world’s early 

 civilizations and one of the oldest sports. The historians believe that many sports (games) like hockey, wrestling, snake and ladder (Mokshapattam) and chess originated in India, which are synonymous to strength and speed nowadays. In the late Vedic Era, besides sports the Yoga and Meditation are the inevitable parts of the "Yogashastra" which is made in India. That is adopted to all over the world for acquire health and fitness. This dignified discipline of Indian Sports finds its place in Bhagwat Gita too.

A popular English school game, hockey was introduced in India by British Army regiments and the game soon found to be favour among the native Indians. Spreading internationally, the popularity of the game was especially effervescent in India and Pakistan. It was during this time that the London Hockey Association was formed and the rules for playing hockey were standardized. In 1924, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) was formed Hockey is the game which is believed to be in existence about 1200 years before the Ancient Games of Olympia. Right from Arabs, Greeks, Romans, Persians to Ethiopians, everyone played a variation of the game. Even though many ancient civilizations played hockey in different variations. The modern game of hockey is the field hockey that developed in the British Isles in the 19th century.

The FIH  
                          

Hockey took its most important step forward in 1924 when the International Hockey Federation. Today, the work of the International Hockey Federation is accomplished through the efforts of the FIH President and Honorary Secretary General, working together with an Executive Board, eight Committees, three Advisory Panels and the professional staff in its Lausanne headquarters.

In many ways, the FIH serves as the 'guardian' of the sport. It works in co-operation with both the national and continental organisations to ensure consistency and unity in hockey around the world. The FIH not only regulates the sport, but is also responsible for its development and promotion so as to guarantee a secure future for hockey and three years later, the international Federation of Women’s Hockey followed.

The National Game of India: Hockey

In India the first hockey club was came on 1885-86 in Calcutta. Hockey has its debut at 1928 on Olympics Amsterdam Games. Indian hockey team cruised home to its first Olympic gold, without conceding a single goal. The hallmark of this ruthless domination was the wizardry of Indian hockey legend - Dhyan Chand, who mesmerized the Amsterdam crowd with his dazzling skills. From 1928 to 1956, the Indian hockey juggernaut won six straight Olympic gold medals, while winning 24 consecutive matches. During this time, India scored 178 goals conceding only 7 goals.

This was the golden era of Indian hockey, when India loomed large in world hockey and produced some of the finest players the game has ever seen. During this dominance, one name that clearly comes to mind is Balbir Singh. For almost three decades, Indian team had about five players with the same name. The first Balbir Singh played with the great Indian teams of 1948, 1952 and 1956. He reached the highpoint of success at Helsinki in 1952 when he scored five goals in a 6-1 gold medal victory over the Netherlands. The four later Balbir Singhs played with the later Indian champions.

Hockey was chosen as the National Game because of the team's unparalleled distinction and matchless talent at that time. Despite the ever-growing popularity of cricket, Hockey has managed to still be the National Game of India. The peak time of Indian hockey team was from 1928 to 1956, when it brought all the six consecutive Olympic gold medals home that were held during those years. The end of its glory were perhaps the result of the death of the star hero Dhyan Chand.

Who is Major Dhyan Chand?

A newspaper report about India's triumph said,

“This is not a game of hockey, but magic. Dhyan Chand is in fact the magician of hockey.”

Legend has it that Adolf Hitler was so enamoured by Dhyan Chand's hockey skills that he had offered him German Citizenship, which the Indian declined. And former hockey players, who had the privilege to play with Dhyan Chand still remember the legend and the magic of the man.

It was also said that the Great Britain did not send a team in 1928 Amsterdam Olympics after their national team was defeated by the Indian team at Folkestone. This is best cited in Kapur's book "Romance of Hockey" where a despatch of H. Sutherland Stark, London representative of "Sports", a magazine of Lahore, tells the story better than any other comment: "For reasons it is difficult to understand the English Hockey Association have taken up a very stiff attitude towards Indian Hockey in recent years and have repeatedly been twitted about it by even their own supporters.

Hockey is not Our National Game!

Hockey is not the national game of the country! And the revelation has come straight from the Union ministry of youth affairs. The ministry says that country does not have a national game as no game has been notified as such. The response from the ministry has come on an RTI query from a ten-year-old girl, Aishwarya Parashar, who has grown learning in school books that hockey is the national game of the country and was the first non-European team to be a part of the Indian Hockey Federation.

The ministry has sports disciplines put into different categories. Hockey is one of the priority disciplines but it is not a national game. The response, however, contradicts GoI's own announcement, made on its official website (india.gov.in).

The website does not only call hockey the national game but also talks about India's glorious `hockey' history. Not only this, the response has left hockey players fuming. "They should then tell us which the national game and show us the notification which says hockey is not a national game," says Olympian Sujit Kumar.

Since 1928, when India played hockey in Olympics in Amsterdam under the Union Jack, it has been the country's national game. "Instead of talking nonsense, they (govt) should do something to improve the game and work for betterment of hockey players," said another Olympian Syed Ali.

Need to Back the Glory of Hockey in India

A book titled Dhyan Chand - The Wizard of Hockey, was launched on Thursday in the capital to mark his 108th birth anniversary.

'Dhyan Chand was my coach in 1963. I use to play in centre forward and I remember Dhyanchand advising me to keep the ball away from my hockey stick as I had great speed. I took his advice and that changed my game forever. I feel blessed to have been coached by him," says Harbinder Singh, who was a part of India's hockey team which won gold in the 1964 Olympics.

For today's generation the greatest Indian sportsman will most probably be Sachin Tendulkar. Maybe because the current generation didn't have the privilege of seeing Major Dhyan Chand. This book will hopefully help them understand the importance of the Hockey legend in Indian sports history.