Field Hockey

Hockey World Cup - 2010 Highlights
India crashes out of world cup
India crashed out of the FIH World Cup after a dissapointing loss to England in a do or die match. The hosts carried loads of expectations befor walking into the game but a dismal performance by the forwards shattered India's hopes of world cup semis. The team lacked co-ordination on the field and every single pass went into the sticks of opposition who capitalised on evry opportunity. England went 2-0 in the first half and India never looked like catching on. However, in the final minutes, India two scored two quick goals giving fans a rau of hope but at the end, we ended up on the loosing side. With this 3-2 loss, India is now out of the race for semis and the last match against South Africa is just a matter of prestige.

Indian hopes in despair after 2-5 loss to Spain
Road to the semi finals of FIH world cup 2010 became a tough say for India after a 2-5 loss to Spain. India lost the match with the same margin as they lost to Australia. The successive losses have made it very tough for Indian side to stay in the competition and now the performance of other teams will also be a deciding factor for India's survival. Indian hockey team seemed to lack the winning intensity and except for first 10 minutes, the team looked completely shattered. Forwards were caught napping and defence showed many loopholes. In the end, a desrved victory for Spain.

India gets a 2-5 thrashing from Australia
India got a 2-5 thrashing from Australia in their poll match at Hockey World cup 2010. The flank attacks, diagonal runs from around 23 metres and the minus passes, all at tremendous pace, put India out of circulation. Indian forward line missed the presence of Shivinder Singh who is under suspension from FIH. The Australians showed sheer domination in the game with their defence saw through India's deep flank runs and crosses. Hard tackling and good marking of India's forwards in the circle led them to a convincing victoru after they faced an upset from England in their opening match.

India beats Pakistan
India defeated the arc rivals Pakistan in an exceptional display of hockey skills and talent. The high voltage clash between the two asian hockey giants resulted in a one sided affair with India beating Pakistan by 4 goals to 1. Indian players thrashed the opposite team with continues attacks on the goal post and defended its own very effectively. Penalty corner specialist Sandeep Singh scored two goals whereas Prabhjot Singh and Shivinder Singh scored one goal each. For Pakistan, Sohail Abbas scored the only goal.


Schedule


Finals Matches

Closing Ceremony

Venue
Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi

Field hockey, commonly known as hockey, is a popular sport for men and women in many countries. It is played in open field.

Two opposing teams try to drive the ball into the opponents' net with the help of curved sticks.

The team putting the ball in opponents' net maximum scores the most.

DO YOU KNOW
Hockey is the national game of India and Pakistan

• Indian and Pakistani national teams dominated men's hockey until the early 1980s.
• India and Pakistan won four of the first five Hockey World Cups.
• After 1980, Netherlands, Germany and Australia gained importance.
• Other strong hockey playing nations are Spain, Argentina and South Korea.

HISTORY OF FIELD HOCKEY

• It is not known when and where hockey began.
• Historical records show that hockey type game was played in various antique civilizations.
• 4,000-year-old drawings found in the Beni-Hasen tombs, in the Nile Valley (Egypt) depicted men playing this sport.
• Some other traces show that the Arabs, the Persians, the Romans (a version called paganica) , the Ethiopians and the Aztecs were playing a variation of hockey.
• The first ever evidence of a a team sport was found on bases of statues, which were part of the wall built by Themistocles in 478 B.C.
• The European settlers in Argentina in the 16th century described a somewhat hockey-like game of the Araucaño Indians known as cheuca or 'the twisted one' from the twisted end of the stick used by players.
• In the Middle Ages, games like hockey were played throughout Europe. It was known as cambuca (or comocke or cammock; compare modern camogie) in England, shinty in Scotland, jeu de mail in France, and het kolven in The Netherlands.
• Modern hockey was developed in the British Isles. It became firmly established by the first half of the 19th century.

HOCKEY FIELD

• 100 × 60 yard (91.4 m × 55 m) rectangular field.
• The goal is 7 feet (2.14 m) high and 12 feet (3.66 m) wide.
• The semi-circle is of 16 yards (14.63 m) from the goal known as the shooting circle (or D or arc)
• The dotted line is 5 yards (5 m) from the semi-circle
• The lines across the field is 25 yards (22.9 m) from each end-line and in the center of the field.
• The penalty spot or stroke mark is placed 7 yards (6.4 m) from the center of each goal.

HOCKEY TIPS

• A "push" shot is played when the player uses wrists to push at the ball.
• "Flick" or "scoop" shot is similar to push but it requires an additional wrist action to force the stick through at an angle to lift the ball off the ground.
• A "hit" is a shot where a backlift is taken and contact with the ball is made quite forcefully.
• To produce much stronter hit, the stick is raised higher and swung at the ball, known as a "drive."
• A term "tackle" is the placing of stick into the path of the ball. To increase tackles effectiveness, players place the entire stick close to the ground horizontally.
• "Flat" (also known as square) signifies a pass made to either the right or left of the player with the ball at a 90 degree angle.