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International

Changed rules make the game faster, smoother, though Indians lose

By: Manish Kumar

Amstelveen, August 25: The Champions Trophy final between Holland and Australia may have lacked flair but what it had in plenty was breathtaking speed. Indeed, one of the characteristics of this tournament, and of current top-level hockey, was the fast-paced, smooth-flowing play, a far cry from the game of even a decade ago.

The style was best summed up in the genius of Dutchman Teun de Nooijer, who dominated yesterday’s match. ‘‘Nooijer is the most complete player in the world’’, said former Dutch coach Roelant Oeltmans. ‘‘He plays according to modern hockey — it is so fast that players cannot afford to hang on to the ball. The earlier one releases the ball, the less time it takes to build up the moves.’’

Much of it is due to the changes in rules made by the International Hockey Federation (FIH), with the intention of making hockey spectator-friendly. The bad news for India and Pakistan was that the subcontinental style of dribbling and individual artistry lost out in the face of power hockey. ‘‘Technology changed everything’’, says Australian legend Ric Charlesworth, referring to the sticks used. At the 1994 World Cup in Perth, the FIH experimented with composite sticks, made of carbon and fibreglass, which lent abnormal power to the hits and dramatically increased the pace of the game.

They benefited the Europeans, whose game was based on power and speed, rather than skill. They began experimenting with new tactics: sweep-hit, tapping and slapping of the ball for long passes. It helped most during penalty-corners — players could extract many times more power than from the wooden stick.

Former India captain Pargat Singh, who’s just spent four years on the FIH’s Rules Committee, played in several matches against Holland and their powerful PC hitter Floris Bovelander. ‘‘Bovelander was hitting the ball with 20 per cent more power with the composite stick. It was even more difficult to defend.’’

Indian players have only recently started using composite sticks; while expense (the new sticks cost Rs 10,000) is one factor, another is that wooden sticks are more suited for skilful play. ‘‘Our players don’t play sharp passes, they depend more on skill’’, says Pargat.

But to level the playing field somewhat, the FIH has ruled that from next year players will not be able to change their sticks at penalty strokes and penalty corners. The most consistently visible — and immediately profitable — sign of change is the one regarding the penalty-corner rule. Till 1994, the push had to be stopped ‘dead’ inside the D but some teams were taking advantage of the rule and stopping the ball deeper inside, reducing the distance from the goal. Under the new rule, the stopper has to stop the ball outside the D for the player to execute the PC.

As the game became more oriented to power and speed, players began to feel the effect. Lasting 70 minutes at breakneck pace would be tough, so the system of rolling substitutions was introduced less than a decade ago. The aim was simple: keep players fresh, keep the game moving.

In fact, keeping in mind the prevailing humid conditions at the 2002 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, some of the influential countries managed a one-time change in the rules: each team could select 18 players instead of 16, the increased the bench strength vital for European countries not used to weather.

Not all rule changes have helped, though. In 1996, the FIH removed the off-side rule, some say to differentiate hockey from football. It hasn’t worked, says Pargat, it’s undermined the flair. ‘‘The beauty of the game is lost. Now people only play in each other’s 25-yard area and the midfield action is lost. The off-side rule has affected subcontinental hockey more’’, he says.

Indeed, teams have become more defensive, wary of leaving their guard open. Statistics prove this: Between the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and last year’s World Cup, the graph of average goals at major international tournaments is declining. ‘‘One or two tournaments in between — like this Champions Trophy —may have seen a high number of goals scored but they are the exceptions’’, says Charlesworth. It shouldn’t be long, given hockey’s attack mode, before the anomaly is ironed out.

HOCKEY’S WISH-LIST
Two more changes suggested by experts:

• The game should be 80 minutes, not 70, over four quarters with three breaks, says Pargat. It’s also with an eye to commerce. ‘‘Hockey needs advertising on TV and there have to be enough breaks to attract advertisers’’

• Reduce the number of players from 11 to 9, to create more space.

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