International Hockey Trophies and Its Winners

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Nico_B_Rama]Nico B Rama
Hockey is a sport that involves two teams of players trying to hit, push or flick a ball into their opponent's goal using sticks. Known as field hockey in countries where the more common type of hockey played is ice hockey, the game is governed worldwide by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). This governing body organizes regular international tournaments including the prestigious Hockey Champions Trophy.
Hockey is played by both males and females and has players belonging to a wide age range. As a result, men's and women's tournaments are conducted in junior and senior categories. It is not popular, though, among sport spectators and does not encourage that much players to turn professional. However, it is played in many countries and is considered as one of the field team sports that have the most number of participants in the world. In this category, it is in the same level as football (or soccer) and cricket.
Among the international tournaments that are greatly anticipated by hockey players are the Olympic Games, Hockey World Cup, Asia Cup, and the Hockey Champions Trophy.
Hockey was introduced in the Summer Olympic Games as a men's competition in 1908 during the Games in London. The women's competition was initially played in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The first champions were Great Britain (England) in the men's competition and Zimbabwe in the women's competition. In the most recent Summer Olympics, the Beijing 2008 Games, Germany took home the gold over Spain in the men's division, while the Netherlands beat China to the gold in the women's division.
The Hockey World Cup is one of the most coveted hockey trophies for international players. The World Cup for hockey is held every 4 years in the middle of the Olympics gap. The last tournament was held in New Delhi in 2010. Australia, having won over Germany in its finals, is the current champion. There's also the Women's Hockey World Cup, which is now reigned by Argentina who maximized its home court advantage and beat the Netherlands also in 2010.
The ASHF Asia Cup, held every two years during the Olympics gap, is an international field hockey tournament organized by the Asian Hockey Federation (ASHF). It features tournaments for both men and women. The current men's champion is South Korea who beat Pakistan in the games held in Malaysia in 2009. The women's champion, meanwhile, is China who won over India in the 2009 tournament in Thailand.
Finally, the Hockey Champions Trophy is the most celebrated event by the FIH. Held every year, this tournament also presents both men's and women's competitions. In the 2010 men's competition, which was held in Germany, Australia won the gold as it beat England. The women's competition this year was already held in the Netherlands. The host team won the finals over Argentina. [http://www.awardsandtrophies.com.au/Select/s22/Hockey.aspx]Hockey trophies and other sports awards can be ordered online at Awards and Trophies. Visit their site to know more about their free engraving and 100% money-back guarantee.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?International-Hockey-Trophies-and-Its-Winners&id=6517833] International Hockey Trophies and Its Winners