The Royal Dutch Hockey Federation (KNHB) was affiliated to the International Hockey Federation in 1926. Holland won the silver medal in its Olympic hockey debut in the 1928 Amsterdam Games.
Netherlands is the first country outside the British Commonwealth to win the World Cup in hockey. They first won the World Cup in 1973 on home soil in Amsterdam. They repeated this feat in 1990 (Lahore World Cup) and 1998 (Utrecht World Cup).
Netherlands is the only country apart from India to win back-to-back Olympic men's hockey titles. The Dutch won the Olympic hockey title in 1996 (Atlanta) and repeated four years later in 2000 (Sydney).
Netherlands is the only country to win men's hockey's Grand Slam - i.e., simultaneous holders of international hockey's three most prestigious titles - Olympics, World Cup and Champions Trophy. Netherlands won their first-ever Olympic gold medal in Atlanta in August 1996. Then they won the World Cup in Utrecht in June 1998, and completed the Grand Slam by winning the Champions Trophy in Lahore in October 1998. Their captain on all these three occasions was Stephen Veen.
In women's hockey, Netherlands has won a record 5 World Cup titles - they won in 1974 (Mandelieu), 1978 (Madrid), and then a hat-trick of titles in 1983 (Kuala Lumpur), 1986 (Amsterdam) and 1990 (Sydney).
As of 2003, Netherlands has 1,55,000 hockey players registered in 307 hockey clubs. Of these, 7,688 players compete in serious competition. Netherlands has the world's best National Hockey League, comprising 12 clubs employing leading players from all over the world. Top juniors in the various clubs are identified from the ages of 12-13 and trained at 6 zonal centres. It is this well-planned hockey structure that has consistently produced world-beating Dutch hockey squads since the 1970s.
The resurgence of Dutch hockey started when the Holland won the 1973 World Cup in Amsterdam. The heroes of that victory were Ties Kruize, their penalty corner and penalty stroke specialist, and their spectacular goalkeeper, Maarten Sikking. In the 1973 World Cup final, Ties Kruize wiped out an early 2 goal lead by India, while Sikking saved a penalty stroke of B. P. Govinda, and Holland went on to upset India in the tie-breaker.
Ties Kruze was the top scorer in the 1972 Munich Olympics (18 goals), 1973 Amsterdam World Cup (11 goals) and 1975 Kuala Lumpur World Cup (7 goals). Ties Kruize was the only Dutch player to figure in six editions of the World Cup, from 1971 Barcelona to 1986 London. The Germans nicknamed Kruize 'Thor' - with 167 goals from 202 internationals, Kruize was indeed the Thunder God of hockey.
Maarten Sikking was the best goalkeeper to do duty for Holland. The Masked Marvel reached his peak in the 1973 World Cup in Amsterdam. He was fantastic in the penalty stroke shoot-out against Germany in the semi-final. Only Baumgart and Michael Peter could beat him. In the final against India, he effected a remarkable save to thwart Govinda during sudden death, and Holland eventually beat India in the tie-breaker.
Paul Litjens lived for long in the shadow of Ties Kruize, but got his break in the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Using a stick of the maximum permissible weight, Litjens topped the goal scorers list at Montreal with 11 goals. He bid adieu after the 1982 World Cup in Mumbai, where he captained the Dutch team. Paul Litjens played in 4 World Cups and 2 Olympics, and for many years was the most feared penalty corner striker in the world. Paul Litjens, nicknamed the 'Executioner', retired as the world's highest goal scorer (in the post-war era) with 267 goals from 177 official international matches.
John McBryde, Australia's Olympic captain in Tokyo, analyzed that the secret of winning matches in hockey lay in the ability to convert corners, the ability to defend corners, and the ability to create corners through the manufactured offence. With the likes of Ties Kruize, Paul Litjens, Roderick Bouwman, Floris-Jan Bovelander and Bram Lomans, Holland are the undisputed kings of penalty corners in the world.
The Dutch coach Hans Jorritsma has coached two different countries to World Cup titles. In 1990, he was the coach of the Dutch team that won the World Cup at Lahore, beating Pakistan in the final. In 1994, he was the coach of the Pakistan team that won the World Cup at Sydney, beating Holland in the final.
Rupi Sans Kruize played for Holland in the Olympics, winning the bronze in the 1948 London Games and silver in 1952 Helsinki Games. Thirty two years later, his three sons, Ties Kruize, Hans Kruize and Jan Hidde Kruize, represented Holland in the 1984 Los Angeles Games.