The Summer Olympics have experienced numerous field hockey events take place since the 1908 Games in London. At that point, six teams participated in the competition – England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Germany and France. It would be England that claimed the victory over Ireland in the final at that point, with an 8-1 outcome. But exactly how many teams have participated since then, and which ones have been the biggest victors in the sport at the Summer Olympics? We’ve got a few facts and figures to discuss right here for you.
While men’s field hockey was removed from the 1924 Paris Games due to the lack of an international sporting structure, it was the same year that the International Hockey Federation (IHF) was formed in the same capital city. This saw it return to action at the 1928 Olympic Games, held in Amsterdam. As it happens, from 1928 through to 1964, it was the Indian men’s hockey team that dominated the Olympics, claiming gold medals in seven out of the eight competitions that occurred then.
It didn’t take long for Pakistan to start its own catch-up run, claiming three gold and three silver medals between 1956 and 1984. Yet, India lost its dominance over the sport in the 1980s, and Pakistan in the 90s. A selection of others countries have found themselves rising to the top of the rankings every now and then too, with gold medals being claimed by Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Argentina and Zimbabwe throughout the years.
Women’s Field Hockey Becomes an Active Part of the Olympics
It was only at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow that women’s field hockey became operational. That debut event for women was won by the team from Zimbabwe, and it has remained a stable women’s event at the Games since that time.
Right up until the 1988 Olympics, the tournament was an invitational one, although the FIH introduced its own qualification system, which came into effect for the 1992 Summer Olympics.
In total, India leads the overall rankings, having claimed a total of 11 medals in the field hockey sphere, with eight of those being golds.
The 2016 Rio Olympics saw Argentina claim the victory for the men, with Belgium and Germany coming in silver and bronze medal positions, respectively. Meanwhile, on the women’s side of things, the Great Britain team won gold, with the Netherlands claiming silver and Germany winning the bronze.
Various teams have already qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics (now moved to 2021), including Australia, India, Spain, Germany, South Africa and Canada.
Field hockey at the Olympics has also seen a surge in popularity where sports bettors are concerned. This could be due to the sport’s own increasing popularity, or due to the fact that improvements in technology have enabled gamblers to bet from their mobile devices. Sites like 1xBet are able to provide their players with the capability of placing sports bets from their smartphones easily. So, you will need to learn how to download 1xBet mobile app for Android before doing so, but it makes things so much easier for bettors. Other events are also able to be wagered on via this method, so as long as you have a data or Wi-Fi connection, mobile sports betting is a simple task to undertake.
