Is there hope for field hockey in India?

India won the inaugural Asia Hockey Championship in Ordos, China, beating Pakistan 4-2 in the finals by a penalty shoot-out. The championship included the top six teams from the Asian Games 2010 championship where Pakistan won the men’s championship with Malaysia finishing second and India finishing third. India, though it won 8 Olympic hockey gold medals between 1928 and 1980, has more or less neglected the “national sport” for the much more popular cricket. Few television channels televised the live final match; and most spectators were tuned into the rain-affected England-India match at Lord’s, part of the India’s tour of England series in which India has lost most matches so far. Considering the recent disappointment in cricket and the win of the underdog hockey team against archrival Pakistan, there is a chance that more viewers will tune into India’s next international hockey match.