Hockey in India is the country's National Game. This
Indian National Support is not quite in its form since long but has
bright prospects ahead.
National
Game of India - Hockey - 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, the
introduction of Astroturf (still a rarity in India) and the migration of
many hockey-playing Anglo Indians to Australia. Recently, the few wins
have rekindled the interest of the Indians in the forgotten game and
have managed to grab a little bit of attention to the hockey sport team
starts such as
Dhanraj
Pillay.
Hockey was chosen as the
National Game because of the team's
unparalleled distinction and matchless talent at the time. During the
phase, India had played 24 Olympic matches and won all of them scoring
178 goals and conceding only 7 goals. The only other achievements of the
team later that are worth mentioning are the gold medal in the 1964
Tokyo Olympics and the gold medal in the 1980 Moscow Olympics. The black
magic Indian touch and their ball juggling feats have become almost
extinct now. Perhaps we need better coaches, more finances and
facilities and more practice on Astroturf, which has a faster surface
than the grass, where Indians have to practice. It will be a good idea
to train the talented children in hockey right from school level,
providing them the necessary funds, training and facilities to preserve
the Indian glory.
