Hockey

The Olympics had their beginnings in ancient Greece, named after the venue—Olympia, a Greek settlement. The first recorded Olympics were held in 776 B.C., but they were suspended in 394 A.D. by the Roman Emperor Theodosius. After an interval of more than 1500 years, the Olympics were revived in 1896 through the zeal and efforts of a French nobleman, Baron Pierre de Coubertin. The Games are now held every four years in major world cities by rotation. However, they had to be abandoned thrice in 1916, 1940, and 1944 on account of two world wars.

The XXI Olympic Games will be held in Montreal, Canada, from July 17 to August 1, 1976, with India participating in several events. India’s main interest in the Games has been in hockey, a sport in which it reigned supreme for an unbroken span of 32 years in six consecutive Olympic Games since 1928. The Olympic Games are intended to foster international goodwill by bringing together different countries in friendly rivalry. India is interested in the growth of international understanding in the field of sports and has been participating in the Olympic Games to live up to the Olympic ideal that participation in a friendly manner is more important than winning. The Indian Posts & Telegraphs Department is celebrating India’s participation in this year’s Olympic Games by issuing a series of four postage stamps on July 17, 1976.