THE INDIAN HOCKEY TEAM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19383, 19 July 1926, Page 8

THE INDIAN HOCKEY TEAM.

The visit of the Indian Army hockey team takes rank among the most pleasurable experiences in sport this country has known. The players came with a reputation to sustain, for hockey in India has reached a,very high standard. They have justified the expectation that they would demonstrate the excellence of that standard, and have proved moreover to be very fine sportsmen. The three test games against New Zealand representative teams left an inconclusive result, but it can fairly be said that, all things considered, the visitors have showed a marked superiority over the best that this country has so far produced in hockey. It was unfortunate for them that the game on Saturday was played at Eden Park, a ground rendered by recent weather conditions quite unsuitable to their clever style of play. On a hard, fast ground they would have been seen to better advantage, and decisive victory would almost certainly have rested with them. The amount of body-work manifested by both sides —it is a defect from which the visitors' play has been signally free —was doubtless occasioned by the slippery state of the field. Throughout their games the visiting players have shown themselves masters of stick-work and tactics, and their exhibitions have been a revelation even to the most accomplished of our enthusiasts. Their visit has both quickened interest in hockey and taught valuable lessons to its devotees. It has made this season memorable: Proceeding to Australia, they leave behind them a great company of admirers and carry with them good wishes for the rest of their tour.