Hockey in India
Hockey in India, the first hockey club 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 Indian hockey was - Dhyan Chand, who mesmerized the Amsterdam crowd with his dazzling skills. Indian hockey juggernaut won 8 Olympic gold medals, while winning 24 consecutive matches. India scored 178 goals conceding only 7 from 1928 to 1956.
1928 to 1956 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 pinnacle 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.
The Indian stranglehold over the Olympic hockey gold came to an end, when Pakistan defeated India in the final of the 1960 Rome Olympics. However, the record created by India is likely to stand strong through ages, as no other country has ever managed to come close to it, leave about beating it. Talking about some of the legendary and outstanding players of Indian hockey, Dhyan Chand, K.D. Singh, Dhanraj Pillay and Dilip Tirkey are some names that come to mind instantly.
Sansarpur, Punjab is famous for its hockey players and India got many gems from this village.
Thanks to their exceptional gaming technique and enduring enthusiasm, the position of India in the field of hockey achieved new heights in past.
Now a days Indian hockey is on the edge of its death and the National Game of India is struggling to make its presence in this country where people are more keen towards cricket and forgot the this legend game.
Recently Indian goalkeeper got hurt in practice session and could have lost his vision but no body cares about him and if it could be a small injury news for a cricket player people could have been crazy on that and Indian Media will be continuously showing that.
If this condition will be continue I am sure soon people will forget about Indian Hockey and its legends.
