Hockey means the national game of India. The game of field hockey originated in Egypt about four thousand years ago. Along with this, it can be traced back to the civilizations of ancient Greece and Egypt. On the basis of the achievements made by the country in this game, hockey came to be considered the national game. In the history of the Olympics, India has won a total of 8 gold medals in hockey, which is a record in itself.
History of Hockey
Hockey was played in Ireland under the name Harling about 700 years ago. But when we talk about modern hockey, its mention starts with England. In the year 1840, the first hockey club was established in England itself. This club was named Readington Club.
The first hockey match was played on 24 October 1874 with the Richmond Club. After this, the first international match of hockey was played between Wales and Ireland in Rhyl on 26 February 1895, in which Ireland won.
Hockey rules were made for the first time in the year 1886, after which the first hockey club for women was established in England in the year 1887, which was named East Molsey Club. Hockey was included in the Olympics for the first time in the year 1908, in which 6 teams participated, in which England received the Gold Medal.
Hockey competitions in India started in 1895 and India started participating in Olympic hockey in 1928 since then hockey has been a part of the Olympics continuously. The Indian hockey team won 6 consecutive gold medals from 1928 to 1956, after which the team won 2 more gold medals.
Hockey Rules
Some rules are made in any type of game, similarly, some rules have to be followed in playing hockey. Today we are giving you complete information about the rules and regulations of the game of hockey here.
1. The game of hockey is played between two teams, in which both men and women can participate. There are 11-11 players in each team. And out of those 11 players, 1 is the captain.
2. This game is of a total duration of 70 minutes in which 2 rounds of 35-35 minutes are played.
3. There is a 5-minute rest period between the two rounds.
4. This game is played with a hockey stick which is white in colour, hitting the ball with this hockey stick has to score a goal in the goalpost of the opposing team.
5. Each team also has a goalkeeper who tries to stop the goal by standing on the goalpost.
Goal-related Information
1. Goal - When a player hits the ball and passes it between the goal posts into the net with the help of hockey, it is considered a goal. The score for a goal is also awarded to the team that scores the goal.
2. Free hit - If a foul occurs on the part of the field, then the free hit is taken from the same place, but after the free hit, the offensive player cannot hit the ball until another player hits the ball. Do it At the same time, let us also tell you that the player from whose side the ball went out of the sideline, only a player of the opposing side hits the ball.
3. Long Corner –If a player kicks the ball outside the goal line within the 25-yard line, the offensive player is awarded a corner. In a corner, the ball is hit by placing it on the corner joining the sideline and the goal.
4. Penalty Corner – A penalty corner can be awarded to the opposition team if a player inside the 25 yards deliberately violates the rules. In this, a player can stroke from a distance of 7 yards in front of the goal line. Only the goalkeeper can try to stop it.
