Hockey: the lost pride of India

Anything that symbolizes a nation becomes a part and parcel of its pride, honour and name. Taking the same theory, hockey, the national sport of India is a part and a way to serve India’s national interest. Starting from 1920 to the 1950s, this was the golden era of Indian hockey with a craze that united whole of India and bound it together in a single game. In this period, India gave phenomenal legends like Dhanchand and Roop Singh to the world of hockey. It was during this time that India captured 8 Olympic gold medals along with many major world events.

But this trend is diminishing today and with it, it is destroying India’s image as it falls in international hockey to an all time low of 9th position. Many reasons can be attributed to this fall starting from a few stated below.

1.    Emergence of cricket:
 

With the emergence of Cricket especially in the men’s format, the wonder of major hockey player names has seen a fall in fan following. The rise of cricket lords like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, M.S. Dhoni or even the present day Kohli and their lustre of shear class has overshadowed the charm of hockey.

2.    The IPL fever:
 

Cricket was hovering above all sports, but the emergence of the IPL has made the game even bigger by taking it to a different level and producing new star.

3.    Lack of sponsors:
 

The sponsors have also fallen for the enhancing presence of cricket and ignored other major sports like hockey leading to a lack of infrastructure and support for these sportsmen. No sports can sustain without continual support of finance and infrastructure either from the corporate or from the government and hockey, at present is getting neither of those. Even the brand ambassadorship of major MNCs has replaced hockey player names with the new celebrities or cricket stars.

All has not ended for hockey with trials being made at every front to bring back the sports to its past grandeur with steps like organising hockey world cup in India and hockey league India. Other than the major club league, the domestic competitions are also receiving minor corporate sponsorships right now.

The hockey league India is considered to be a major step due to its grand success. So let’s not forget our past glory in hockey and try to increase our hockey skills to give respect to our national sport and great nation.

HHIL : An attempt to rejuvenate hockey

The Hero Hockey India league is about to begin its new season early in the next month. The competition was announced earlier this year after it received a huge response in its inaugural season. It is a sports event cum entertainment package, power packed with vigor, glamor, sportsmanship, and a rush of adrenaline. The game is organized, following the team of IPL cricket tournament. It was an attempt to popularize the once famous game of hockey that has lost its glory in India.

The commercial aspects of HHIL would help to pump in the much needed resources in the game, and would reclaim the lost interest of the public. The event consists of six teams amongst which, Ranchi and Delhi franchise in Hockey India league came out to be the best teams, with first and second rank respectively. The big conglomerates own these teams and secure players for them through auctioneering. The event is expected to stir the crowd and rise up the fever, just like the old times.
 

The last match of the previous season played between hockey franchise Delhi and Ranchi was breath taking. It was a tough competition which the public thoroughly enjoyed.

India, the past unrivaled champion in hockey, lost its uncrowned kingship after the revolutionary changes in world hockey took place. The natural grass field was replaced by synthetic turf and the Indian Sports Foundations were too sluggish to respond to this change or to implement it and train our champions accordingly. It took them more than a decade to wake up and brush off the dust from the gleaming history of Indian Hockey.

In the present scenario, after the rejuvenated attempts of Indian team in Olympics and the recent bronze in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup; hockey called for some attention from the public. Thus, Hockey India stepped forward and launched the HHIL in collaboration with leading business groups such as Sahara India (Owners of UP franchise) and Wave Groups (Owners of hockey franchise in Delhi) in India. Hence we have our hopes pinned up, that if hockey got back the lost attention and resources, maybe we can recreate the past magic.   

Delhi Wave Riders: The dominant force of HIL

Hockey India League or HIL is the official domestic franchise tournament in India. The league is organized by the Hockey India (The official governing body of Hockey in India), and the International Hockey Federation. The inaugural tournament occurred in year 2013 in India, and the league received great response from the hockey lovers in India. Among the teams participating in the Hockey League India, Delhi Franchise in Hockey a.k.a. Delhi Wave Riders is one of the most talked about team.

As the name makes it clear, the hockey franchise Delhi represents the city of Delhi in the tournament. The name of the team comes from the company that won the sponsorship rights for the team, which is Wave group.

The Wave Group paid the highest money to win the naming rights of the Delhi Franchise in Hockey. Wave group is now the sole sponsor of the Delhi team for HIL for the next seven years. The players for each franchise team were selected by the support staff of the franchise team in an open auction. Delhi Wave Riders purchased the Indian hockey team captain and the star player Sardar Singh for $78,000. This is the highest amount paid to any Indian player in the first season of HIL.

The Delhi Wave Riders team plays under the captaincy of Sardar Singh, while Ajit Pal (former Indian national hockey team) joins the team as the chief advisor of the team. Mr. Ajay Kumar Bansal is the coach of the hockey franchise Delhi. Delhi Wave Riders has the record of highest number of consecutive wins with 11 wins until they lost to Uttar Pradesh team franchise in the 12th game. The auction for the franchise rights was held in September, 2012. Wave group is a big business group with many industrial sectors under its subsidiaries, such as real estate, retail businesses, cinemas, etc.

In the first ever Hockey India League tournament, Delhi Wave Riders performed amazingly as expected and won 10 games out of total 14 games, two of them resulted in drawn matches. The team clearly dominated the league matches and reached to the final game of the tournament for the title of inaugural HIL winner. However, sadly they lost the final match of HIL season 1 to Ranchi Rhinos and came out runner up of the cup. In the entire tournament, Delhi Team scored a total of 41 goals in 14 matches, out of which highest 7 goals were made by Rupinder Pal Singh.

Revival of Indian hockey

There was an era when public used to play games and sports in order to revive their mind in their idle time, but nowadays these sports events have turned out to be competitions on national as well as on the whole global platform. Hockey is one of the oldest sports in the world. It was discovered 120 decades ago and has now become a national and international game of India. Formerly, hockey was played among the people to expand their hostility skills and in order to become a mighty warrior, but in today's era it has become a zeal of many individuals and this competition has drawn in many countries.

Hockey was exposed and developed in India by the British and then afterward when it became the national sport of India; it crazed the Indians with a lofty number of spectators and fans. However, with passing time this national sport lost its spectators and fans. Ultimately was replaced by current favourite sport, cricket. With time cricket gained many fans and audience, which made them, a religion of India, whereas the hockey team India was somewhere elapsed.

There also came a time when the cricketers were treated as gods while the Indian hockey players did not even obtain an introduction to the public. Nevertheless, with time this situation is changing by the current hockey players who are trying their best to increase their performance and at the same time have come along with an increased number of spectators along with huge fans from India. The present hockey players are raising the position of India in the global level hockey and simultaneously trying their best to triumph as many matches they can.

The present hockey players of hockey team India have altered the method of playing and have come in conjunction with high degree techniques that have the capability to a triumph maximum number of games. After a long phase hockey is earning viewers and fans because of the performance of these hockey sport person and even got back the real attention that a nationwide game deserves. There was a time when the Indian hockey player like Dhyan Chand, Leslie Claudius etc made hockey the heartbeat of the country and now new players like Sandeep, Danish Mujtaba etc are once again raising the same craze among people and are trying to take hockey to new heights.

Hockey is India’s national game and every Indian should support this game. Its survival depends on your encouragement. The cheering will encourage Indian hockey players play at their best and soon Indian hockey will retain its old status and position back.

Hockey League India- Igniting the lost craze

With time everything changes. In a similar way the fame and craze of hockey, the national game of India has disappeared. This game was originally played by the warriors nearly 1200 years back in order to develop and enhance the warrior skills and fighting skills in the warrior. This game was first introduced by the British in India and then became very popular among the citizens of India and this made it the national game of India. But later cricket replaced its place in terms of fame, craze and fan following. Cricket became like the religion of India while hockey somewhere disappeared. But with these current hockey players, the demand for this game is again increasing and hockey league India is doing everything to bring the reputation of hockey back in India.

The current hockey team have excelled in their performances and are ranking high internationally and this is increasing the craze and bringing back the lost fame. The hockey players name is there in the web and you can go through them to know the names of the current hockey team who with their high skills and strategies are winning matches and winning the hearts of the people of India.

This hockey league India is trying to enhance the skills of the players and at the same time trying their best to give chances and opportunities to the new players and let them show their talent. They not only give opportunities but also make the demand for hockey increased. This is also inspiring the youth and the youngster to make interest in hockey and build up a passion for this game. These leagues and franchise are even developing the strategies and making the experienced players learn new skills from the young players. It’s an opportunity and a benefit to both the experienced player as well as the young player to acquire skills from each other.

Particularly for the one, who has strong inspiration and passion for hockey and give them the opportunity to showcase their talent and their skills. This has also resulted in the outstanding performances of the woman hockey team and raking the nation high in the international competition. You can go through the hockey players name in the web and their details. You can even find the strategies and skills of these hockey players and their best match performance. If you have a strong interest for hockey and enhance your skills then go through the web and search for these details it will definitely help you in building a great career in hockey.

Tips for scoring a goal in hockey

Hockey is the game that is played with passion and followed with fervor, across the world. The players treat a game as a matter of life and death. The game is regaining its lost popularity amongst the youth of India, and youngsters are approaching the field. But beginners are finding it hard to master the skill of scoring a shot which is of utmost importance in the game. The goalies are getting better at defending the net; with latest accessories, they are more protected and light footed. Moreover, they are of a greater physical built than the rest of the team. Thus to steal a goal amongst these growing challenges is difficult, but despite these if the best hockey teams still manage to score then even you can. But the best ways to combat these challenges are Practice, determination and tactful strategy.

Practice makes a man perfect is an old proverb but it holds good even today. There is no shortcut to it, and sheer hard work is the only thing with which you can see your way through it. Watching decisive matches is a good idea to gain inspiration from some of the best Indian hockey players. You can actually see and learn strategies to create a space between the strongest of defense. Upon closer observation you will notice that the best sportsmen take advantage in two ways.

The first trick is to learn to create the element of surprise. Goalies are quick at reading your body language and anticipating your moves, so surprising them is the only way you could score; and some of the best Indian hockey players base their game on this. So instead of dribbling longer dribble it with another of your teammate passing simultaneously, and then attempt a goal when the goalie is confused about your positions. Also you can keep moving your feet in and around the scoring area, this can give the impression that you are trying to pass it to another player instead of attempting the shot yourself.

The second trick is to make the goalie move as much as possible, and the best way to do that is to attack from sides. The human body cannot make uncoordinated movements, the goalie can move his leg and hands both in the same direction only. Thus, he can defend either of his side and not both; and if you would appear to be attempting the goal at one end then he would position himself accordingly, thereby creating a gap on the other side. And movement between sides is difficult for the goalie, but you can quickly flip side and attempt a high rise shot at the former end.

Thus by using these tricks you can become the star player of your hockey team. But remember to polish these tricks with a lot of hard work and practice. Team work is also necessary, so work on your team skills as well.

Tips for formulating a diet chart for hockey players.

A winning performance on the game day takes a lot more than practice. In order to ensure a bright career as a hockey player, focusing on your nutritional needs is also essential apart from rigorous training. Hockey is a high calorie consuming sport and it requires a lot of physical stamina and muscular strength, as a result the nutritional demands of your body increases considerably.

But most of our Indian hockey players do not consider this aspect, their body is strong and resistant in the early years but in later years it affects their health and performance. The extra workout burns out more calories due to which sportsmen take larger food portions. This makes them believe that they are refilling the nourishment vitals sufficiently; but those extra chapattis and buttermilk do not compensate your body requirements. Therefore a planned diet with a balance between all food groups is important, so following diet tips should be adopted by hockey teams.
 

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the best and most essential form of energy source for sportsmen. Carb rich products should be included in your breakfast and lunch to fuel you through the day. They provide a large portion of the daily stamina required for your active bodies. Vegetables, fruits, whole grains (such as brown rice), milk and its products, Legumes (peas, all kinds of beans, lentils) etc are rich sources of carbohydrates. The average Indian diet misses out carb rich sources, so it is essential for hockey teams to especially focus on its intake. 
 

Proteins
 

Protein is the Tinkerbelle for your strong muscles; it repairs, strengthens and builds tissue and maintains a strong immune system. Including small but frequent portions of it in your diet will fortify your muscles and tissues. An ideal protein diet consists of food items like lean meats, milk products, eggs, cheese and tofu. However do not overdo on it as it can be dehydrating for your body.
 

Fats
 

A limited amount of healthy fats are also essential in your diet; the Indian diet is rich on it but you need to focus on the type and the amount of your intake. Peanuts, olive oil, walnuts, almonds, soy nuts, salmon etc. are some sources of healthy fat.

Thus follow this diet plan which is preferred by the professional Indian hockey players as well; and it will help you in maintaining your energy levels. And last but not the least, do not forget the fluids and drink plenty of water.