The evolution of field hockey as an Olympic Summer sport in the inter-war years was marked by two contrasting developments. England, the home of modern hockey, made a solitary appearance in Antwerp in 1920 (where the matches were held in early September) and won gold but thereafter refused to play while the other constituent parts of Great Britain stayed away from Olympic hockey altogether. On the other hand, India, then a colony under British rule, aligned with countries on the Continent and joined the newly founded International hockey federation (FIH) to take part in the 1928 Amsterdam Games and, over the next decade, played a crucial role in keeping hockey within the Olympic fold. This project examines England`s reluctance, and India`s eagerness, in the light of developments that were taking place in the history of hockey, the Olympic Movement and the world at large. This is the first systematic study of the emergence of field hockey as a permanent Olympic Summer sport (men`s field hockey has been a part of every Olympic Games since 1928) as it covers five archives in two countries, various online databases and a host of secondary sources including official reports, and newspaper and magazine articles.
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