Recent successes
Before cricket was a big deal in India, hockey was undoubtedly the most popular game in the country. Between 1928 and 1956, India won six straight gold medals at the Olympic games and was the dominant force in world hockey. However, this golden era of Indian hockey is long in the memory, and sports fans of today do not have memories of international successes to hark back to.
Countries like Australia, England, Holland, and Belgium have developed exponentially in the world of hockey and have surpassed India, which has remained fairly stagnant in terms of growth in the sport. Although India still produces some of the most technically proficient players in the world, other countries have more of a handle on how the game is developing and have adapted their training to suit this progress, thus achieving better results.
