No drag-flicks during penalty corners in domestic event

BANGALORE: Tradition will make way for safety and skill with the CM Yeddyurappa Cup all-India hockey tournament, beginning at the KSHA stadium on June 12, doing away with the power-oriented penalty corner and introducing instead a set piece that will be a lot more pleasant to watch.

The eight teams taking part in the tournament will not employ the dreaded dragflick or knuckle down to frenetic action as they look for an indirect conversion. Instead, they will use their dribbling and passing skills to score a goal. Pioneered by Australia’s Ric Charlesworth and presently in use Down Under, the new penalty corner will have four attackers and three defenders, including the goalkeeper, operating over a larger area.

One of the attackers pushes the ball from the back-line to his teammates stationed on the dotted line just beyond the 15-metre circle. The ball has to cross the dotted line before the attackers make their way towards the goal. It is normal field play from the time the ball is pushed.

Originally, Charlesworth had advocated that the attackers receive the ball once it crosses the 23-metre mark. As he had remarked: “We will not have dangerous shots and no players on the line. Umpires can see what’s happening and understand the situation better. They don’t have to look at too many things at the same time. The spectators too enjoy what they see. Having said that, the essence of a penalty corner remains. Just as in a penalty corner, the game is stopped with all the other players going to the other end of the field. They are not allowed entry as this set piece is in motion.”