The seven founder member-nations - France, Hungary, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria
and the erstwhile Czechoslovakia -decided to set up an international body to serve the
interest of hockey. Hockey was removed from the 1924 Olympics and subsequently reinstated
in the 1928 Olympics, thanks to the efforts of the FIH.
By the time the game was brought to India, it was popular in different parts of the world
under different names. In Ireland it was called as Baire or Burly, in Scotland as Shinty,
in England and on Wales as Bandy, and in France as Hocquet. The major international
tournaments now include the World Cup, the Champion's Trophy and the Inter-continental
Cup.
Though the Beighton Cup Hockey Tournament was introduced in 1895 and the Aga Khan Hockey
Tournament in 1896, hockey in India developed as an organised sport with the formation of
the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) on 7 November,1925 at Gwalior. Punjab, Rajputana,
Delhi, Sindh, Western India, Uttar Pradesh and the Army Sports Control Board became the
initial members and the IHF began to grow with every passing year. Today, the IHF is the
apex body for the control of hockey and responsible for the development of the game
throughout the country.
India first participated in an Olympic hockey event in the 1928 Amsterdam Games and
straight away came out with flying colours, by winning the gold medal with Jaipal Singh as
the captain of the with team. India subsequently dominated the game for over three
decades. This was the 'golden age' of Indian hockey. In the eight Olympic Games from 1928
to 1964, the Indians won the gold seven times including six consecutive victories from
1928 to 1956. In the 1960 Rome Olympics, India lost the gold to Pakistan, but regained the
same in the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. India again had to wait till 1980 to win a gold in
the Moscow Olympics, which was boycotted by some leading nations of the world.
Though India has been finishing among the top three in the Asian Games, claiming the gold
once at the 1966 Bangkok Asiad, men its international performance, especially or late, has
left a lot to be desired. India has won the World Cup only once, in 1975, at Kuala Lumpur.
India once again cornered Asian glory towards the end of the last millennium by winning
the gold medal at the Bangkok Asian Games.
Even as efforts are on to revive Indian hockey at the international level, the game
continues to enjoy a lot of popularity at the domestic level and is commonly played from
the school stage itself. A number of tournaments are held at various levels in different
parts of the country throughout the year. Apart from the Beighton and the Aga Khan hockey
tournaments, the other major events in the hockey calendar of the country include the
Scindia Gold Cup, which was started in 1922, the Bombay Gold Cup, the DCM Cup (1945), the
Obaidullah Gold Cup (1931), Nehru Hockey Tournament (1964), Modi Memorial Gold Cup and the
Murugappa Cup.
Started in 1928 by the Indian Hockey Federation, the Rangaswamy Cup is the symbol of
national supremacy. Till 1944, it was of conducted on a biennial basis, after which it
became an annual affair. The Cup is named after a former editor of The Hindu who himself
was a fine exponent of the game. The runners-up trophy, known as the Manavadara Cup, was
donated by the Nawab of Manavadara.
At present the following units are affiliated to the Indian Hockey Federation: the hockey
associations of Andhra, Assam, Bengal, Bihar, Bhopal, Bombay, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat,
Haryana, Hyderabad, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Madhya Bharat, Tamil Nadu, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Pondicherry, Chandigarh,
Himachal Pradesh and Manipur, Inter-University Sports Control Board, Patiala Union Hockey
Association, Railway Sports Control Board, Services Sports Control Board, U.P. Sports
Control Board, Vidharbha Hockey Association and Indian Airlines Sports Control Board.
A.I.S. Dara, Akhtar Hussain, Latif-Ur-Rehman and P.P. Fernandes had the distinction of
playing for India and Pakistan in international matches. During India's domination, the
game was known for its artistic and dribbling skills and was generally played on natural
turf. The game has now undergone a sea-change and is known for its sheer physical speed
and is more often than not played on artificial turf. Artificial turf was first introduced
in 1966 at the Astro Dome Stadium, Houston, USA for a football match. It was manufactured
by Monsento International Sales of the USA. Astroturf was First used in the Montreal
Olympics in 1976. Subsequently, at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, another artificial surface
known as polygrass manufactured by a German firm was introduced.
Keeping in tune with international trends, Indian hockey players are also getting used to
the various kinds of artificial turfs. The most commonly used artificial turfs in India
are the astroturf, polygrass, sandfill and super turf. Venues in India where the
artificial turfs can be found are: National Stadium and Shivaji Stadium, New Delhi, Sports
Authority of India Centres at Patiala, Bangalore, Calcutta and Gandhinagar, Sector 24
Sports Stadium, Chandigarh, Burton Park, Jalandhar, B.H.A. Stadium, Bombay, Pampose
Stadium, Rourkela, Dhyan Chand Stadium, Sports College, Lucknow, as also the hockey
stadiums at various cities Amritsar, Ranchi, Rampur, Pune, Mumbai, Bangalore and Bhopal.
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