London 2012 hockey: The 1st Google doodle of its kind

London 2012 hockey is the first ever field hockey related Google doodle featured during the Olympics.

Hockey, in the form of ice hockey, has been featured in three Google doodles before. The first one was on February 18, 2002 during the XIX Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The doodle depicted one of the games' mascots, Coal, an American black bear, playing ice hockey. The puck formed one of the Os in Google.



The second ice hockey related Google doodle was during the Torino Olympic Winter Games, while Google completed the trilogy by doodling for Vancouver Olympic Winter Games in 2010. The doodle had an O and the second G removed from the logo, as if swept away by the puck.


Field hockey was introduced at the Summer Olympic Games as a men's competition at the 1908 Games in London. India hold the record for maximum wins, with 8 golds, most of them having come between 1908 and 1964. India last won the Olympic field hockey gold in 1980. Women's hockey was introduced in the Olympics during the same year.

It will be interesting to see what sport finds its place in Thursday's Google doodle.