Hockey is considered to be the oldest ball and stick game, it can be traced back to the Greek, Persian and Roman civilizations, each of them having their own versions of the game. At present, the term ‘Hockey’ can be used to denote field hockey (the matches are played on either grass, artificial turf, watered turf, synthetic field or indoor boarded surface), ice hockey (the matches are played with ice skates on an ice skating rink) or roller hockey (the matches are played on a dry surface with roller skates).

In most parts of the world including India, the term hockey automatically refers to ‘field hockey’. The game is played on a rectangular field which is 100 yards long and 60 yards wide, marked with a centre line and two 25 yard lines. Every player uses sticks which are curved at the striking end to hit the ball into their opponent’s goal. There are two teams of 11 players each, consisting of 5 forwards, 3 halfbacks, 2 fullbacks and a goalkeeper. Only the goalkeepers are allowed to stop the ball with their foot or body, all the other players can stop and pass the ball only with their sticks. The total duration of the match is 60 minutes, having four quarters of 15 minutes each. There is a 2 minute break after the first and the third quarter. The interval after the second quarter, also known as the half time is 15 minutes long.

The following are some of the basic rules of hockey that you should be aware of:

• A player can hit the ball only with the flat side of the stick.
• A field goal, which is a goal that can be scored during the open play, needs to be scored from inside the ‘striking circle’. If the ball is hit from outside the circle, then the goal doesn’t count.
• Hockey is a no contact sport, therefore, the players can not trip, push, charge at, interfere with or physically handle the opponent in any way.
• All fouls result in a free hit or a ‘penalty corner’.

There are two umpires in hockey, usually each of them is responsible for half of the pitch. A player who breaks the rules can be shown a green, yellow or red card. The Green card is an official warning to the player to not break the rules. The Yellow card sends the player off the pitch for 5 minutes. The Red card is given for serious offenses and results in the player being sent off.
History of Hockey in India

Hockey was introduced to India during British rule. India’s first hockey club was established in Calcutta, in the year 1855. Finally in 1925, the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) was formed. IHF organized the first international tour to New Zealand in 1926, where the Indian Men’s Team won 18 out of the 21 matches. It was during this tournament that we saw the emergence of Major Dhyan Chand.

Journey to the Olympics

The Indian hockey team played its first Olympics in 1928, winning a gold medal in the first attempt. This was followed by two more golds in 1932 and 1936, completing the Indian team’s first hat-trick of gold medals.

When the Olympics returned after the Second World War, an Independent India steered its way to another hat-trick, with gold medals in 1948, 1952 and 1956. So far the Indian men’s team has won 8 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze medals in the Olympic games.

The Indian Women’s Hockey Team goes international

The women’s hockey team made their international debut in the 1974 Women’s Hockey World Cup, where they finished fourth. However, they had to wait 8 years to win their first international gold medal at the 1982 Asian Games. Till now, they have won 2 Silver medals (1998 and 2018) and 3 Bronze medals (1986, 2006 and 2014) at the Asian Games. They also won a gold medal in the 2002 Commonwealth Games. In addition to this, they have won two Asia Cup titles in 2004 and 2017 as well as the Asian Champions Trophy in 2016.

As per the latest FIH World Rankings, the Indian men’s and women’s hockey team ranks 5th and 8th respectively.