Hockey is the oldest known ball and stick game. Records exist of it having been played in Persia in 2000 BC. In medieval Europe, pictures of men playing a game with hooked sticks appear on stained-glass windows at both the Canterbury and Gloucester cathedrals. It became so popular by the Middle Ages that it was banned in England for a time because it interfered with the practice of archery, which was the basis for national defense. The name hockey probably derives from the French hocquet, or shepherd's crook, and refers to the crooked stick.
India dominated the sport for three decades, winning all six Olympic gold medals and 30 consecutive games from 1928 to 1956. The first Balbir Singh, who was followed by four more players of the same name who also played for victorious Indian teams, scored five goals in a 6-1 gold-medal victory over the Netherlands at Helsinki in 1952.
曲棍球概述（1908年成为奥运会正式比赛项目）
曲棍球是使用带有弯头的木棍控制球的一种球类运动，是同类运动中历史最悠久的。据记载早在公元前2000年前的波斯就已经有了该运动，英国的坎特伯雷和格鲁赛斯特大教堂玻璃窗上都印有类似于现代曲棍球比赛的图像，中世纪时该项运动得到广泛普及，但是英国在那时过于重视作为国家防御基础的射箭项目，而将曲棍球运动终止了一段时间。曲棍球“hockey”的名字大概来源于法语中的“hocquet”，意识是“牧羊人的弯棍”，特指带弯头的木棍。
从1928年起至1956年，印度队以绝对优势连续获得6届奥运会曲棍球冠军，在该项目上称霸世界近30年。巴尔比尔-辛格带领着其他4名都叫辛格的印度人，在1952年赫尔辛基奥运会上以6：1的比分战胜了芬兰，夺取了金牌。
