"We were surprised, and even shocked to see our sport go into the last five sports to face being voted off the Olympic programme," Kelly Fairweather, chief executive of the International Hockey Federation (FIH), tells insidethegames.

"We didn't expect this. We were coming off a very, very successful London Olympics. So when we came out of the Games we felt good about our sport.

"But we took what happened seriously. I remember Sebastian Coe saying once at an Olympic presentation: 'Never let a good crisis go to waste.' That was how we looked at it."

Germany's men celebrate after their victory over the Netherlands in the London 2012 Games final ©Getty Images

As the Rabobank Hockey World Cup gets into full stride in The Hague, Fairweather, who joined the IHF in 2010 after roles within the IOC and the World Anti-Doping Agency, is able to reflect upon a period of dynamic change within a sport which, as from January next year, will be involved in an eight-year TV deal with the Indian company Star Sports which it is hoped will revolutionise coverage and improve the game's worldwide appeal.

"When I joined FIH three-and-a-half years ago there was already a long-term strategy in place for the sport," says Fairweather, who was Director of Sport for the IOC from 2003-2008. "But it became more pressing because of our situation with the IOC after the London Games, and so the development was accelerated.

"All federations tend to be a little bit inward looking. We think our sport is fantastic. But after the London 2012 Games we started asking others outside the sport: 'What do you think about it?'

"One of the perceptions that came across about hockey at that time was that it was very popular in certain regions of the world, but that it was not as strong in other parts of the world. There was a perception that it was a bit of a Commonwealth and European sport.

"But we are working very hard to change that perception. The game is very strong in Asia, for instance, in countries such as Pakistan, Malaysia, India, Japan, China and Korea. And we see fantastic potential in the Americas.

"Nowadays sports is a massive business, and entertainment product, and what happened after London 2012 made us realise that we have to keep our numbers up. It has been a bit of a numbers game for us - 'how many people are there watching the sport?' 'What is the spread of the game across the world?'"

Australia's Kirstin Dyer in action, with Korea's Mihyun Park in attendance, during the side's match on the opening day of the Rabobank Hockey World Cup in The Hague. Australia won 3-2. ©Getty Images

The answer to those two questions is likely to become increasingly satisfactory for the FIH thanks to an impending $250,000 (£149 million/€183 million) TV deal with the Indian broadcaster, Star Sports - a development which the federation has described as "game-changing".

Fairweather says the FIH is "very excited" about what the new eight-year deal, which starts from January 1 next year, can do for the sport.

Star Sports, who cover all the International Cricket Council's events as a global Broadcast and Production Partner, has already partnered Hockey India to launch the Hockey India League, which showcases the sport in a way designed to appeal to younger viewers. It was broadcast in more than 80 territories worldwide.

During the period of the deal, the FIH will seek to host a major event in India each year, while Star Sports plans to distribute content to more than 200 countries.

Leandro Negre, President of the FIH, commented when the deal was announced earlier this year: "This partnership is an incredibly important and exciting development for international hockey. Our vision is to entertain and inspire a global movement of hockey fans and players and Star Sports is an industry leader when it comes to significantly increasing the reach and popularity of sport."

The first big event Star Sports will be involved in will be the semi-finals of the World League in July and August of next year, which is the first big step in qualifying for the Rio 2016 Games.

"There are so many advantages Star Sports bring," Fairweather adds. "Their quality of production, their distribution network - they have worldwide outlets and links with Fox and Sky networks. They can deliver to a huge market.

"How can you measure success? As a federation, we already have a presence on TV, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. We have almost 500,000 followers on Facebook right now.

"And we look on the Star Sports deal as a global marketing campaign."

It is certainly advantageous that Star Sports will be dealing with a sport that has just decided to alter its playing structure, although Fairweather insists there is no link between this shift and the TV deal which is waiting in the wings.

Hockey matches will be played with four quarters rather than two halves as part of radical changes to broaden the sport's appeal to broadcasters and fans.

The intention is to make the game faster and more exciting for the 2016 Olympics in Rio. The four 15-minute quarters will replace the previous two 35-minute halves, and there will be 40-second timeouts following the award of a penalty corner or the scoring of a goal.

The four-quarter format has already been trialled in the Euro Hockey League and in India.

It will apply to all continental Olympic qualifying events from September 1.

"The quarters and the Star Sports deal were not linked at all," Fairweather insists. "After the London 2012 Games we met with Olympic broadcasters and one of the things they said to us was that our sport had really improved over the last decade or so with new rules.

"But they said one of the main issues now was that the game has become too fast, and viewers don't have the opportunity to see the action because there are so few natural breaks in the game.

"Rugby and football have more opportunities where the action can be reviewed. They can do replays, highlighting controversial moments or pieces of skill. That was a major factor as far as the TV people were concerned.

"So now there is a period of 40 seconds after every goal, and penalty corner which gives us an opportunity to show the viewer replays in slow motion.

"Many people have said the idea of having four quarters of 15 minutes each is a new idea, but it's not new. The Hockey India League has had this system for the last two years, and the European Hockey League for six years.

"So it is not a new concept.

"We looked at a lot of other sports such as basketball and ice hockey.

"A lot of people are saying the new system means games are 10 minutes shorter, but the fact that we take time out for stoppages means the actual playing time is the same as in the old format, if not a bit more.  We have been very careful not to reduce playing time.

"Previously when there was a penalty corner or a goal the time wasn't stopped. It was just dead time. Now the focus is more on actual playing time.

"The current World Cup is being played under the old rules because that was the format in place for the qualifying competitions and we weren't going to change that.

"The changes will take effect at the first qualifier for the 2016 Olympics, the Asian Games which take place in Incheon, Korea in September. We wanted to give teams involved enough time to get used to the idea.

"In the Indian and European leagues there is a high proportion of international players from a range of countries who have all had the opportunity to become acquainted with the quarters system.

"We have taken on board the point some have made about the game losing momentum under the new format. But the positive thing for us is being able to show slow motion action replays which highlight the skills being displayed and bring the viewers much closer to the game."

England's Ashley Jackson is one of the players in the world game with mercurial skills that will be showcased in the new TV deal with Star Sports ©Getty Images

He added: "We want to try and get people to understand the tactics and strategies involved in games and to see what the players are trying to do through our game analysis.

"That is what we are working with Star Sports on. They have done a great job with cricket and other sports, and that experience is going to be invaluable when it comes to presenting hockey to a worldwide audience.

"We want to be able to pull passages of play out and show bits of intricate skill used by players which are often not obvious to the naked eye, so that people can fully appreciate their dexterity.

"Sometimes cameras from the side make it hard to understand what is going on because the line of sight gets blocked by bodies.

"At the World Cup in The Hague, for the first time, we are trialling the use of spider cams. They will run on wires directly above the field of play so that viewers will be able to look right down on the action and we hope this will allow them to see the patterns in the game more clearly.

"The next Olympics in Rio will see hockey played in quarters. After the Games, as we always do after any major event, we will review the system. But I would say I can't see a major change coming after Rio."

The Netherlands women's team in training before the Hockey World Cup got underway in The Hague ©AFP/Getty Images

As a former employee of the IOC, Fairweather - formerly High Performance and Coaching Director for South African Hockey - is well placed to understand the sometimes arcane procedures of the body in charge of the biggest sporting event in the world.

"Being part of the Olympic programme is absolutely critical," he says. "But we are looking to broaden the appeal and spread of the sport, and hopefully that will achieve that objective anyway."

In the meantime the IOC, prompted by its new President Thomas Bach, is undergoing a thorough and open-ended review of all its aspirations in creating what has been called the Olympic Agenda for 2020. Hockey's place at the table has been vouchsafed by the naming of the FIH President to one of the 14 working parties announced last month.

IOC President Thomas Bach, pictured at the SportAccord Convention in Turkey this year, has initiated radical change with the Olympic Movement through the Olympic Agenda for 2020 ©AFP/Getty Images

Negre will be involved in the group looking at Olympic Games Management, but the fact that he is there in the mix is the key factor from Fairweather's point of view.

"We are obviously delighted that our President is on a working party within the Agenda 2020 process," Fairweather says. "Being at the table when discussions are taking place is critical. You are right in there and you can see at first hand the general line the discussion is going on.

"But with the changes that are being considered within Agenda 2020 I don't think any sport really knows how things will be in the future. Hockey has changed a lot in the last decade or so, but all sports are constantly evolving, and I guess we always try to keep one thing in mind: how can we ensure we keep our sport at the cutting edge?

"I think there will be many International Federations and many people outside the Olympic Movement who will be watching with interest how this year will pan out. But there is a general sense of excitement about what the IOC President Bach is doing."

In the meantime, Fairweather's attention is being taken by the Hockey World Cup now underway.

"I suppose if you ask the players they would say the Olympics is top of the list and the World Cup comes next," he says. "We are constantly working towards trying to raise the profile of the World Cup so that it becomes on a similar level to the Olympics.

"Obviously there will always be differences as the Olympics is a multi-sports event and the World Cup is a stand-alone event. But in terms of the four-year competitive cycle, the Olympics and the World Cup are the twin pillars of our sport."

From the Star Sports point of view there will be particular interest in how India's young team - currently eighth in the world rankings - get on.

"India have some really good players, and in Terry Walsh they have one of the top coaches in the world," says Fairweather. "The same is true of their High Performance Director, Roelant Oltmans. But unfortunately it takes years to turn things around.

"I believe India has the youngest team on average of any in the World Cup, with a large number of 22 and 23-year-olds. The players have been doing well for 80 per cent of many games, but not so well in the rest of the time, and at that level it is fairly costly. So what their coaches are saying to them for this World Cup is 'consistency first'.

India's Surdar Singh challenges Belgium's Simon Gougnard during the opening round of the Hockey World Cup in a match won 3-2 by Belgium ©AFP/Getty Images

"It should be a really competitive World Cup - you have the powerhouses of Germany, Australia, the Netherlands, you have the Belgian and Argentinian teams which have been on the up recently. I think we could be in for a very, very interesting World Cup.

"The women's competition will also be close. We have the England women, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Germany, Argentina...

"The level of competitiveness in both the men's and women's game has broadened in recent years. From our point of view we want to see a competitive World Cup. We want to have six-to-eight teams competing for the medals."

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, covered the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics as chief feature writer for insidethegames, having covered the previous five summer Games, and four winter Games, for The Independent. He has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, The Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian. His latest book Foul Play – the Dark Arts of Cheating in Sport (Bloomsbury £12.99) is available at the insidethegames.biz shop. To follow him on Twitter click here.