Hockey was first included in the Olympic Games in 1908. Quite a long wait since the earliest records in existence of hockey being played in Persia in 2000 BC. Even worse, womens hockey did not get included until 1980! Why such a delay?
Well, until the 1970s, the game at international level was played on natural grass. This was heavy and slowed activity. when plastic turf was introduced, the game became much faaster and therefore more thrilling to watch.
The field hockey was introduced first to the Olympics before the ice hockey. The field hockey started as a men’s competition at the 1908 Games in London. The first women’s Olympic field hockey was held at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.
The ice hockey has been a part of the Olympic Games since 1920. The men’s tournament was introduced to the event at the 1920 summer Olympics and was permanently transferred to the Winter Olympics Games in 1924. The women’s tournament was introduced to the Olympics games at the 1998 Winter Olympics.