History of field hockey

Field hockey is a popular game possibly depicted on walls in Egypt. Drawings of what looks to be hockey have been found in an Egyptian tomb that was 4000 years old. Hockey is a popular game in India and Pakistan. It was played for hundreds of years before other countries like England modernised it. Hockey is similar to an ancient game played predominantly in Scotland called shinty. Also, bandy was called "hockey on ice" in the beginning, as it was considered an ice variety of hockey. Hockey is often played at schools in the UK but its origins are unclear. Later came ice hockey, which developed in Canada.

In Inner Mongolia, China, the Daur people have been playing Beikou (a game similar to modern field hockey) for about 1,000 years. European settlers in Chile in the 16th century described a hockey-like game of the Araucano Indians called chueca (or 'the twisted one' from the twisted end of the stick used by players). In Western Australia, early white settlers witnessed Noongar people played a game called dumbung, in which bent sticks were used to hit a ball made of dried sap from the native peartree. (The game is believed to be the source of the name of Dumbleyung, a town near where it was played.) In Punjab, there is a traditional hockey-like game known as khido khundi, roughly translating to "ball and blunt stick"