An Introduction to the Game of Hockey
Twenty two players-eleven on each side-struggling with one ball to keep it under their control in which game can you discover this situation?
Well, I know 99% answers will be football. Sorry, I meant Hockey. This is also a game that in most part follows the same rules as football, only here the ball is played with the stick and not the feet of the players. The rest is almost same you find 11 players in each team that includes a Goalkeeper, Defenders, Midfielders and Attackers. In hockey, the goalkeeper is the only player on the field who is allowed to use the feet and hands as well as the stick.
Today, hockey is played all over the world. But there are not too many countries in the world where hockey is hugely popular. England is among those few countries where hockey is played with great enthusiasm. This is only natural as the British Empire is the birth place of modern hockey. Though the genesis of hockey may be traced back in a few ancient civilizations of the world, it was not until mid 1800's that this game was revived and added with modern features in England. At first hockey kicked off as an alternative to football to keep the cricketers busy during the season of winter. Still in England, the hockey season continues from September to May.
Here are some interesting facts about this age old game:
-Just like the cricket, hockey spread like wildfire all through the British Empire and the colonies took up the game with the patronization from their colonial masters. This explains why the countries like India, Pakistan and Australia (one time British colonies) occupy respectable places in the world hockey map.
-Today, field hockey is played all over the world by a number of countries and this makes hockey the second largest team sport in the world, after football.
-The first Men's international Hockey match was held between England and Ireland on March 1895 at Richmond Hockey Club. England team emerged as the winner making a 5-0 score.
-The first official women's international hockey match took place in Dublin on 2nd March 1896. This time also there were two traditional contenders England on one side and Ireland on the other. But this time luck was with the opposite side with the Emerald Isle winning the match by 2-0 score.
-Men's hockey was first introduced in the London Olympics in the year, 1908. But it took seventy two more years to include the women's hockey in the Olympics; women's game was introduced to the Olympics as late as in1980.
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