Essay, Paragraph or Speech on “Hockey – The National Game” Complete Essay, Speech for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Hockey – The National Game

It is not known when and where hockey began. Historical records show that hockey type game was played in various antique civilizations. 4,000-year-old drawings found in the Beni-Hasen tombs, in the Nile Valley (Egypt) depicted men playing this sport. Some other traces show that the Arabs, the Persians, the Romans (a version called paganica), the Ethiopians and the Aztecs were playing a variation of hockey. The first ever evidence of a team sport was found on bases of statues, which were part of the wall built by Themistocles in 478 B.C. The European settlers in Argentina in the 16th century described a somewhat hockey-like game of the Araucatio Indians known as cheuca or ‘the twisted one’ from the twisted end of the stick used by players. In the Middle Ages, games like hockey were played throughout Europe. It was known as cambuca (or comocke or cammock; compare modern camogie) in England, shinty in Scotland, jeu de mail in France, and het kolven in The Netherlands.

Even though many ancient civilizations played hockey in different variations, the modern game of hockey—the field hockey-evolved in the British Isles in the 19th century.

Hockey was introduced in India by British Army regiments and the game soon found favour among the native Indians. The first hockey club in India came up in Calcutta in 1885-86 and soon Bombay and Punjab followed suit.

Making its Olympic debut at the 1928 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. 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. The Indian stranglehold over the Olympic hockey gold came to an end when Pakistan defeated India in the final of the 1960 Rome Olympics.

Field hockey, commonly known as hockey, is a popular sport for men and women in many countries. It is played in open field. Two opposing teams try to drive the ball into the opponents’ net with the help of curved sticks. The team putting the ball in opponents’ net maximum scores the most.

Hockey Tips:

• A “push” shot is played when the player uses wrists to push at the ball.
• “Flick” or “scoop” shot is similar to push but it requires an additional wrist action to force the stick through at an angle to lift the ball off the ground.
• A “hit” is a shot where a back lift is taken and contact with the ball is made quite forcefully.
• To produce much stronger hit, the stick is raised higher and swung at the ball, known as a “drive.”
• A term “tackle” is the placing of stick into the path of the ball. To increase tackles effectiveness, players place the entire stick close to the ground horizontally. “Flat” (also known as square) signifies a pass made to either the right or left of the player with the ball at a 90 degree angle. Modern hockey was developed in the British Isles. It became firmly established by the first half of the 19th century.

Hockey Field: The hockey. field is 100 x 60 yard (91.4 m x 55 m) rectangular field. The goal is 7 feet (2.14 m) high and 12 feet (3.66 m) wide. The semi-circle is of 16 yards (14.63 m) from the goal known as the shooting circle (or D or arc). The dotted line is 5 yards (5 m) from the semi-circle. The lines across the field are 25 yards (22.9 m) from each end-line and in the center of the field. The penalty spot or stroke mark is placed 7 yards (6.4 m) from the center of each goal.

Hockey is the National Game of India. Hockey has been played in India for time immemorial. There was a golden period of Indian hockey when hockey stalwarts of India ruled the game. On the international scenario there were no competitors to match the magical hands of Indian hockey players. The mighty and power of Indian hockey made India synonymous with the game. Unmatched excellence and incomparable talent of Indian players became folklore. The ball juggling feats of players like Major Dhyanchand made people to think that Indian players used some kind of black magic. The Golden Era of hockey in India was the period from 1928 – 1956 When India won 6 successive gold medals in the Olympic Games. It has made India stand tall and has proved itself to the world, in spite of being under political suppression.