Learn about history of Indian hockey with new coffee table book

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday unveiled a curated coffee table book titled 'The Illustrated History of Indian Hockey: A Saga of Triumph, Pain and Dreams' capturing the glorious journey of one of India's most celebrated sports.

The book turns back the clock and documents to India's performance in the sport since the 1928 Olympics and other key international events providing exhaustive, in-depth information including the World Cups, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.

With over a century of hockey's existence in India, the sport has seen both success and pain.

On the occasion, Jaitley said: "Preserving history is very important, we often preserve it in the form of museums, publications and nowadays as audiovisuals. Publications like a coffee table book become very important as they are an easy read with beautiful pictures."

"I am quite happy with the way hockey has developed in the country over the last decade and I would like to wish the team all the very best for the upcoming World Cup," added Jaitley, who released the book alongside International Hockey Federation (FIH) and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Narinder Batra.

With less than a week to go for the start of the World Cup in Bhubaneswar, Batra said: "I believe this is the best occasion to launch a book which documents the illustrious history of Indian hockey."

"We are less than a week away from the World Cup and it is essential for a nation with such a rich history in the sport to be able to read and relive its glorious past," he added.

Hockey India President Mohd. Mushtaque Ahmad, HI Secretary General Rajinder Singh and HI CEO Elena Norman were also present on the occasion.

The book traces the golden era of hockey where India emerged as the first 'Super-Power of the game'.

It is a literary destination for all things in hockey including highlights of Women's and Junior Hockey national team's performances laced with interesting statistics, snippets and factoids.

(With inputs from agencies.)