Indian Express: Field goal set to be counted as ‘two’ in HIL

The move is aimed at increasing the percentage of field goals and encouraging attacking hockey. The teams generally look for a foot and win a penalty corner.

The upcoming edition of the Hockey India League (HIL) is likely to introduce a rule change that has been termed ‘revolutionary’ by some franchise officials. As per the new rule, which in all likelihood will be implemented in the next edition of the league, the weightage for field goals will be double compared to the goals scored from penalty corners. That means while a successfully converted short corner will still count as one goal, a field goal will be considered as ‘two.’

The technical committee of the HIL discussed the new rule with the franchises at a workshop that was recently held in Delhi and is likely to be formalised soon. The rule also has the backing of the International Hockey Federation (FIH), giving rise to speculations that, if successful, the rule might be tested internationally as well.

The move is aimed at increasing the percentage of field goals and encouraging attacking hockey. The teams generally look for a foot and win a penalty corner.

The short corners have risen in prominence in the last few years, especially for teams with powerful drag-flickers. The general perception is that the importance given to corners has diminished the value of a field goal, which is an area Indians have generally struggled at in the last few years.

A franchise official said this move will act as an incentive for the teams to go all out and score field goals, while giving teams who are trailing by two goals an opportunity to salvage a point till the final second.

“It’s an exciting rule but a lot will depend on how it is executed. We might see the teams play adventurous and attacking hockey to score a field goal if they are counted as two instead of depending on penalty corners to score a goal,” the official said.

The rule might also see the way teams approach Thursday’s auctions, where the teams will be tempted to go for poachers. Drag flickers have been in demand in the HIL. The top five goal-scorers last season were all drag-flickers, with Englishman Ashley Jackson (11) and India discard Sandeep Singh (9) leading the charts.

“But if field goals will be counted as two, then strikers will be in demand at the auctions this week,” added the official.

A total of 135 Indian and 142 foreign players will go under the hammer on September 17. The six franchises will bid for players from India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, England, South Africa, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Scotland, Malaysia, Japan and Korea to complete their teams.