India's National Sport: Hockey

Hockey is a national sport of country India, on the basis of the popularity of a game in that particular country or we can say on the basis of its historical connect from India. The major reason behind designating a sport as the national sport of the country is this obvious association of pride that it summon in the hearts of the compatriot. Field hockey considered as the national game of India.
India’s performance in Hockey at various international forums was phenomenal during 1920-1950’s period and that was probably why the sport became accepted as national sport in the country. Basically, hockey is a sport in which two teams play against each other by trying to operate a ball into the opponent’s goal by using a hockey stick.
The Indian hockey federation was established in 1925 and the Indian hockey wins its first international trip to New Zealand where they played 21 matches, won 18, lost 1 and drew 2 among them. This trip marked the emergence of the legendary Dhyanchand.
These games played with curved sticks and a ball can be found in the histories of many cultures.
FIELD HOCKEY
Field hockey is considered as the national game of India. It is played on Shingle, natural green grass, sand based, or water based artificial lawn with a small, hard ball approximately 73 mm in diameter. India’s performance in Hockey at various international forums was phenomenal during 1920-1950’s period and that was probably why the sport became accepted as national sport in the country. The game is popular among both males and females in many parts of the world, particularly in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Argentina. In most of the countries, the game is played between single-sex sides, although they can be mixed-sex.
The Controversy – Is hockey really the national game of India… yes or no?
When the Ministry of Youth affairs and sports declared in August 2012 that India has no national sport, Field hockey was the national sport of Pakistan. A 10 year old girl from Lucknow who wanted to know the exact year the government adopted hockey as the country’s national game. So, this was in response to a right to information (RTI) filed by Aishwarya Parashar.
By : Tripti Varun
Content: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hockey