Goal rush: 160 and counting

Uthra G Chaturvedi

A lot has changed in hockey since 1971 when the first World Cup was played. For starters the goal tally has seen a dramatic up swing. From a goal average of 2.4 per match at the end of the league phase in the inaugural edition, the figure has escalated to 5.3 at the ongoing edition about 38 years later at the same stage. Delhi has seen 160 goals scored before the semi-final stage and that’s 40 more than the previous edition.

These spate of goals has resulted in some exciting action at the National Stadium as the Indian hockey fans got a first hand feel of modern hockey where speed and fitness happen to be key.

Double-digit scorelines and high-scoring close games have resulted in crowded stands even for non-Indian games. The tone was set by India when they defeated Pakistan 4-1 win and later in the tournament Australia took goal scoring to the next level as in a world record breaking show they trashed South Africa 12-0. Free flowing entertaining hockey has been showcased at the National Stadium.

Besides, the increased fitness of the players the various rule change have been responsible for hockey, in its present form, being an overtly spectator-friendly sport.

Change of surface

The biggest change has been the switch from natural grass to artificial surface. The grass stopped the ball from moving fast and thus the action was on the slower side. The introduction of synthetic surface in 1976 changed all that. The new surface, which assisted the free flow of the ball, brought in a whole new dimension to fitness on the field, making the game much more physically demanding.

No offside

Another change that sped up the game almost overnight was the no-offside rule, which meant there were no restrictions on who can score and from which position. There were no unnecessary interruptions any more — a move than began from one end of the field could end in a goal at the other end without any break. It made the game faster and the frequency of goals increased.

Change in stick

While the other rules came into practice quite some years back, the one that deals with the dimensions of hockey sticks is more recent. Even till the last decade, hockey sticks were craved from wood. The ones in use now are graphite composite or made of fibreglass — materials that not only withstand immense pressure but also help generate tremendous speeds. An additional curve to the top end of the stick gave added more power to the hits because of its bow-like shape.

Referrals

The latest is the use of video referrals. Though this new rule has translated into frequent stoppages, making the game slower, but the number goal count has increased significantly.

Fitness

The biggest difference, though is in the fitness levels. Teams have become fitter, stronger and faster. Australia is the prime example as their players at an average clock around 17-18 in the beep test — a standard 20 meters repeated sprint. The Indians generally average around 12-14, though some of the present players do match the best in the world.