In the women's event, Netherlands and Australia have been dominant, having won five and three gold medals respectively since its introduction in 1980.

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) was founded in Paris that year as a response to the same.

[1][7] The domination of both the Asian countries came to an end in the late 1980s with India winning its last gold medal in the competition in 1980 and Pakistan in 1984.

[5][6] Though the International Federation of Women’s Hockey Associations (IFWHA) was founded way back in 1927, Women's field hockey made its debut at the Summer Olympics only at the 1980 Moscow Olympics and was won by Zimbabwe.

[3] Great Britain won its first gold medal in the men's event since 1920 in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Since the 1990s, European countries have been dominant in the men's sport with the only exceptions being the wins by Australia in 2004 and Argentina in 2016.

[1] In the women's events, Netherlands and Australia have been dominant, having won five and three gold medals respectively since its introduction to the Olympic programme in 1980.