Hockey —Olympics: Hockey is a sport in which two teams compete over a ball or a hard round disc called puck . The teams try to move the ball or the puck into the opponent goal using a stick . The dominant version of hockey is field hockey which is generally known as “ hockey ”. Field hockey is played with a ball on natural grass . It is also played on sand - based or water - based artificial turfs with a small , hard ball . Field hockey is popular among both men and women in countries like India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, European countries and countries in South Asia . Field hockey in the United States and Canada is mainly dominated by women .
Hockey in the Summer Games: Men's field hockey was introduced to the Summer Games in 1908 London Summer Olympics . The event was excluded from the schedule due to lack of international structure. Men's hockey became a regular event after the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Games . Women's hockey has been included in the Olympic schedule much later in the 1980 Moscow Games . At the 1976 Montreal Olympics , hockey was played on artificial turf for the first time .
Hockey at the 2008 Summer Games: At the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing , the hockey events will be held from 9 th August to 23 rd August . the hockey finals are scheduled on 22 nd and 23 rd August . The matches are going to be held at the Olympic Green Hockey Field located in the Chaoyang District . Two gold medals will be given away in the Olympic hockey competition , one each for the men's and women's categories .
Australia, Netherlands, Germany and Korea are the expected top contenders in the men's hockey tournament in the Beijing Summer Games . On the other hand in women's hockey , competition for the Olympic title will be seen between Australia, Netherlands, Argentina and Germany
