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Field Hockey Field hockey is played on a grass or artificial-turf field. A player scores by striking the ball into the opponents goal from within the striking circle.

Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2004. 1993-2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Field Hockey
Field hockey is played on a grass or artificial-turf field. A player scores by striking the ball into the opponents goal from within the striking circle.

International field hockey

Asia: ASHF Asia Cup

The Hockey World Cup was first conceived by Pakistan's Air Marshal Nur Khan and India's Africa: AFHF African Cup of Nations Jimmy Nagarwalla. They proposed their idea Americas: PAHF Pan American Cup to the FIH under the name of Patrick Rowley, the first editor of World Hockey magazine. Oceania: OHF Oceania Cup Their idea was approved on October 26, 1969, and adopted by the FIH Council at a meeting Europe: EHF Euro Hockey Nations in Brussels on April 12, 1970. Championship

Hockey in History Forms of hockey, perhaps one of the earliest stick-and-ball games, were played by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Persians, Romans, and Arabs. Hurling, a sport similar to hockey, is known to have been played during the 1st millennium bc in Ireland, and similar sports were adopted by other Europeans in the Middle Ages (5th century to 15th century). In pre-Columbian times (before the 16th century) Native South Americans also played similar sports. The name hockey, thought to have been adapted by the English from the French word hoquet (shepherd's crook), was first given to the sport in the 18th century, but was not in common usage until the 19th century. It is likely that a sport resembling modern field hockey was played in public schools in England early in the 19th century. By the 1880s the sport's popularity was becoming established, and women had begun to play. The first women's hockey club was founded in London in 1887. The Fdration Internationale de Hockey (FIH, International Federation of Hockey) was in 1924 founded as the governing body over the men's game, and in 1927 the International Federation of Women's Hockey Associations was established to govern the women's game. In 1982 the men's and women's games were united under the auspices of the FIH, which is located in Brussels, Belgium. By the 1990s the FIH had more than 100 member nations

The British army was largely responsible for spreading the game, particularly in India and the Far East. International competition began in 1895. By 1928 hockey had become India's national game, and in the Olympic Games that year the Indian team, competing for the first time, won the gold medal without conceding a goal in five matches. It was the start of India's domination of the sport, an era that ended only with the emergence of Pakistan in the late 1940s. Since 1970 European field hockey had become noted for the repeated victories by The Netherlands and Germany, offset by occasional flashes of success from Spain. The call for more international matches led to the introduction in 1971 of the World Cup. Other major international tournaments include the Asian Cup, Asian Games, European Cup, and Pan-American Games. Men's field hockey was included in the Olympic Games in 1908 and 1920 and then permanently from 1928
Issued in 1981 on the occasion of the World Cup Hockey Championships at Bombay

Olympic Medalists Men's field hockey became part of the Olympic Games in 1908.
Country Year 1908 1920 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 Gold England England India India India India India India Pakistan India Pakistan West Germany New Zealand India Pakistan United Kingdom Germany The Netherlands The Netherlands The Netherlands Silver Ireland Denmark The Netherlands Japan Germany United Kingdom The Netherlands Pakistan India Pakistan Australia Pakistan Australia Spain West Germany West Germany Australia Spain Korea Korea Bronze Scotland/Wales Belgium Germany United States The Netherlands The Netherlands United Kingdom Germany Spain Australia India India Pakistan USSR United Kingdom The Netherlands Pakistan Australia Australia Australia
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Teams from India and Pakistan have dominated Olympic field hockey competition, but teams from New Zealand, Australia, Britain, Germany, and the Netherlands have also had success. Women's field hockey was first played as an official Olympic sport in 1980. The first Olympic women's competition was won by the team from Zimbabwe, but since then teams from the Netherlands, Australia, and Spain have also won at the Olympics. Other international field hockey competitions include the World Cup, the European Cup, the Manning Cup (between Australia and New Zealand), the East Africa championships, and tournaments held as part of the Asian Games and the Pan American Games. World Cup - Men
1971 1973 1975 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 Barcelona, Spain Amsterdam, The Netherlands Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Buenos Aires, Argentina Bombay, India London, United Kingdom Lahore, Pakistan Sydney, Australia Utrecht, The Netherlands Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Mnchengladbach, Germany Pakistan The Netherlands India Pakistan Pakistan Australia The Netherlands Pakistan The Netherlands Germany Germany Spain India Pakistan The Netherlands West Germany United Kingdom Pakistan The Netherlands Spain Australia Australia

Sportstar recently came out with a list of the top 10 hockey players of the century.
Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Country India India India Pakistan Pakistan Netherlands Netherlands Germany Australia England Player Dhyan Chand Prithipal Singh Ajitpal Singh Hassan Sardar Shahbaz Ahmed Paul Litjens Marc Delissen Stephan Blocher Ric Charlesworth Ian Taylor

Prithipal Singh B: on 28 January 1932 Nankana Sahib, Pakistan. World's best full-back in his time scored the largest number of goals single player in the three Olympics in which he participated. With hat-tricks agianst Denmark and Holland during the 1960 Olympics. In the 1964 Olympics, he scored 11 of India's 22 goals. Captained India against the visiting German and Dutch teams in 1967 and led an Indian team to Madrid. He was Joint Captain with Gurbux Singh, for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico where India had to be satisfied with a Bronze. Prithipal Singh A teacher in the Government Agriculture College, Ludhiana, he was a fearless, straightforward and outspoken person and this cost him his life when he was shot dead by his own student in the campus of the Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana, in 1983.

Born on April 1, 1947, Acclaimed as one of the best center forward in the world during his time. He led India to a sensational victory in the third world cup hockey tournament at Kuala Lumpur in 1975. First represented an international hockey tournament at Bombay in 1960. Later he represented India in Japan in 1966 1967 Next year Ajit Pal Singh gave a dazzling show of Stick work in the Mexico Olympic Games. I am grateful to God, for he has given me everything. So many play, and just fade away. Whatever I achieved recognition, identity, confidence, everything - I did through the game. What more can one expect from the game! he was included in the world Hockey teams of 1971,72 and 73. He next represented India in 1974 in Asian games at Teheran. But 1976 in the Montreal Olympic Games India Suffered the most humiliating defeat under Ajit Pal Singh when they finished Seventh. He retired. Four years later Ajit pal Singh came out of retirement to play in champion Trophy Tournament at Karachi in 1980. Ajit pal Singh awarded the Arjuna Award in 1972.

Hassan Sardar (b: October 22, 1957) Field hockey player from Pakistan, He was instrumental in leading Pakistan to a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, California. Famous for his delightful dribbing and a defenceshattering body dodge Sardar a Karachi native graduated from Habib Public School. Arguably the best centre forward Pakistan has ever produced. He started his international career in the early 1980s and played his first World Hockey Cup in 1982. Sardar scored 11 goals in the tournament a record that still stands and Pakistan took Man of the Toutnament at the gold. the gold winning campaigns in the '82 world In the 1982 Asiad tournament in Karachi, he helped crush India with a hat-trick as Pakistan cup, the '84 Olympics and triumphed 4-1. He later managed the Pakistani the '82 Asiad. Hockey Team. Compared with Dhyan Chand On his day, he was simply unstoppable, leaving the best of defences in tatters and the spectators awe struck by the glorious sight of Hassan bent on his stick, weaving his way round the seemingly leaden-footed defenders with such uncanny control. Hassan Sardar has been the scourge of Indian defences, scoring 22 goals in the Indo-Pak encounters to lead the Pakistani individual tally. Penalty corner specialist Sohail Abbas is on par to break Hassan Sardar's record, as early as next year.

In his prime, he was compared with the inimitable Dhyan Chand. a flattering comparison by the purist Indian connoisseurs, is a befitting tribute to Hassan Sardar's scintillating artistry and genius. Hailed as the most accomplished player of his age, Hassan's stint as Pakistan's spearhead was rather brief, lasting a mere half a dozen years. It nevertheless remains Pakistan's most flamboy ant and memorable era, with one success following another And Hassan had a big hand in all those triumphs; he was the Man of the Toutnament at the gold winning campaigns in the '82 world cup, the '84 Olympics and the '82 Asiad. Famous for his delightful dribbing and a defence-shattering body dodge,Hassna's class and calibre cannot be measured simply by the number of goals he scored, though he put away as many as 180 in a career which lasted a mere half a dozen years. More importantly, he never let the team down, never failing to make an opportunistic conversion or two when it was most needed. On his day, he was simply unstoppable, leaving the best of defences in tatters and the spectators awe struck by the glarious sight of Hassan bent on his stick, weaving his way round the seeminglyleaden-footed defenders with such uncanny control.That really was a sight to remember and cherish.

Paul Litjens lived for long in the shadow of Ties Kruize, but got his break in the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Using a stick of the maximum permissible weight, Litjens topped the goal scorers list at Montreal with 11 goals. He bid adieu after the 1982 World Cup in Mumbai, where he captained the Dutch team. Paul Litjens played in 4 World Cups and 2 Olympics, and for many years was the most feared penalty corner striker in the world. Paul Litjens, nicknamed the 'Executioner', retired as the world's highest goal scorer (in the post-war era) with 267 goals from 177 official international matches.

Matthew WELLS OAM, Australia To be part of the best team in the world and hold a gold medal in all of hockey's major tournaments Pakistani Hockey player Sarwar Muhammad at the

Eight-time Olympic champions India have won the World Cup only once, in 1975 at Kuala Lumpur. India came 3rd in the first World Cup, 2nd in the second World Cup and 1st in the third World Cup. Since 1975, India has not won any medal in the World Cup, failing to even reach the semi-finals, with one miserable performance after another. In contrast, neighbouring Pakistan has gone from strength to strength, playing in 6 finals of the 9 World Cup tournaments held so far, winning a record four times and coming runners up twice. Germany won the two main prizes for men's field hockey in 1995, retaining the European Nations Cup in Dublin in August and regaining the Champions Trophy in Berlin in the autumn. The Dublin final was decided on penalty strokes after a 22 draw against The Netherlands. England finished third and Belgium fourth. One of the most sweeping changes in field hockey came into effect on Aug. 4, 1996, when, as an experimental measure, the offside rule was abandoned. The purpose of the experiment was to diminish dependence on the set pieces and encourage more goals from open play, which would thereby make the game more attractive to spectators. The 10th men's field hockey World Cup was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Feb. 24March 9, 2002. Germany, led by the 2001 Player of the Year, Florian Kunz, beat Australia 21 on a match-winning goal by Oliver Domke to secure its first men's World Cup. The Netherlands sank South Korea 21 with a golden goal for third place. The tournament featured 16 teams,

Topscorer 2006 World Cup Taeke Wiebe Doekes Taekema (born on January 14, 1980 in Leiderdorp) is a Dutch field hockey player, who won the silver medal with the national squad at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. He is famous and feared for his devastating penalty corner drag flicks. He made his debut on January 28, 2000 in a friendly match in and against Egypt. Since then the defender played over hundred international matches for the Dutch.

Best Player 2006 WorldCup Jamie Dwyer OAM (born March 12, 1979 in Rockhampton, Queensland) is a field hockey striker from Australia, who was a member of the team that won the golden medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. He scored the decisive golden goal in the final against title holders The Netherlands.

Jamie Dwyer of Australia contests the ball with Mitesh Patel of New Zealand

Best Goalkeeper 2006 World Cup Ulrich Bubolz (born February 25, 1981) is a field hockey goalkeeper from Germany, who currently plays for the Berlin based club Berliner HC. The goalie made his international senior debut for the German team on June 6, 2002 in a friendly against Malaysia in Hamburg. As of November 11, 2005, Bubolz earned 23 caps for his native country.