Hockey is one of the most popular sports in India. The country is home to some of the best hockey players in the world, and the game enjoys a massive following both in terms of fans and revenue generation. Indian hockey teams regularly feature in international tournaments, with the country’s U-17 squad recently qualifying for the 2020 Under-17 World Cup in Singapore. It would appear that the game is here to stay.
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The Evolution Of Hockey In India
Hockey in India has been around for almost a century now, and the game has undergone something of a revolution in that time. Back in the early part of the last century, hockey simply wasn’t a mainstream sport in India. That began to change in the 1920s, when the Maharajahs of the country began to play the game on a regular basis. This led to a boom in popularity, and the game began to be played at school and college level, as well as at social events and during holidays.
It wasn’t until the 1950s that hockey really started to rise as a sport in India. That was when top Indian school and college players began to be noticed by scouts from the country’s national teams. Today, hockey is a truly mainstream sport in India. The country’s governing body, the Hockey Federation of India, reports that over 7.9 million people play the game regularly, and this figure is constantly on the rise.
Hockey And The Indian Culture
It’s widely accepted that hockey largely originated in Great Britain. The country’s game is closely linked to its culture, and the popularity of soccer in England gave rise to football, hockey’s direct relative. However, it was the game’s early adopters in India who truly made the game popular there. Today, hockey and the Indian culture are deeply entwined, with players from the country often linking their names with the sport’s most famous trophies; the Dravid and the Khelat).
The Indian government actively promotes both hockey and the country’s cultural heritage, with the two often being presented as a package. Each year, the government-sponsored National Cultural Festival presents a range of sports including hockey, and in 2020, India will host the 20th National Hockey Championship. This year’s edition will be held in New Delhi and will feature a full range of hockey tournaments, from school level up to the senior division.
Hockey And The Business Of Sport
In addition to actively promoting hockey and the cultural links with the game, the government of India has also looked to cash in on the sport’s popularity. This led to the creation of professional hockey teams, with the Indian national side being the most successful of these. The game now has its own professional league too, known as the Premier Hockey League. Professional hockey in India isn’t just about playing the game, but also about making a living. With over 150,000 followers on Twitter, Mohammed Shami is one of the most influential players in Indian hockey. The cricket commentator and former India international has leveraged his celebrity through a string of business initiatives, the most recent being a hockey academy in Delhi.
Hockey has always been a popular game in India, and now that the sport is reaching new heights of popularity, it’s important to look at the reasons for this. From the game’s early days, through to the present day, it’s been largely thanks to the indescribable joy of playing the game that has drawn people to it. It’s easy to see why so many people are enjoying playing hockey in India; the combination of skill, strategy and physicality make for exciting and exhilarating sport. As well as the national teams, FIFA, the sport’s global governing body, currently recognizes 47 separate hockey clubs in India. The clubs are part of a network of over 500 clubs around the world that are affiliated to FIFA. This means that Indian hockey players are regularly competing for a spot in some of the game’s biggest tournaments, including the World Cup. It’s safe to assume that with the country’s youth involved in the game at a grassroots level, the future of the sport looks very promising indeed.