The Uttar Pradesh Wizards (no relation to the world of Harry Potter) looked dead and buried in the inaugural game of the 2016 Hockey India League at Bhubaneswar on Monday. With three minutes left on the clock, their captain VR Raghunath had just missed a penalty stroke. As the clock ticked, their opposition – the Kalinga Lancers – started believing that they had the game under control. After all, they had bravely fought back from 4-0 down and now led 6-4.
Cue last-minute drama. With just 30 seconds left, Uttar Pradesh’s Australian import Eddie Ockenden took full advantage of a loose ball to drill it past the Kalinga goalkeeper. Then, with the last stroke of the game, the Wizards’ Akashdeep Singh slammed the ball into the net and wheeled away in celebration. Uttar Pradesh Wizards had won the opening game with the scoreline reading 8-6.
Double delight
A hockey fan might be rather bewildered by this score. At 6-4 down, Uttar Pradesh scored two goals in the final minute, right? Absolutely. So shouldn’t the score read 6-6 and the result be a draw? Not really. That is because as per the new rules introduced in this edition of the Hockey India League, every field goal scored counts for double.
So, while at first glance it looked like 14 goals had been scored in the match, that was actually not the case. A total of seven goals were scored and since all of them were from field goals, each of them counted as double. Under conventional hockey rules, the victor would have still have remained the same, but the scoreline would have read 4-3.
The key word here is “conventional”. This new system trialled by Hockey India – the sport’s governing body in the country – is ostensibly to encourage attacking play and to put an end to the practice of trying to manufacture penalty corners once teams are inside the D. The experiment also has the stamp of the International Hockey Federation, which means that the move could be replicated on the international stage in the future.
The reverberations of this rule were first seen in the first-ever HIL auctions held in September last year. There was a clear preference for strikers over drag-flickers, as evidenced by the huge sums paid to secure the services of Moritz Fuerste, a German midfielder, and Florian Fuchs, a German striker. In contrast, Rupinder Pal Singh, one of the best drag-flickers in the world, went for much less.
There have been mixed opinions on the new rule in the build-up to the tournament. Raghunath, who is a penalty corner specialist, welcomed the rule and suggested that the pressure on drag-flickers would be less. However, Ashley Johnson, captain of the defending champions Ranchi Rays and also a drag-flicker, expressed his disapproval.
Foreign class
Beyond this new rule, there is more to look forward to this season. For one, the prize money has been increased to a total of Rs.5.7 crore, making the Hockey India League the richest field hockey tournament in the world. The number of foreign players on show this year is definitely one of its selling points as Indian hockey fans will get to see some of the best international talent on display.
Moritz Fuerste is undoubtedly star attraction as the two-time Olympic champion makes his return to the HIL as captain of the Kalinga Lancers. But there are other big names as well. Australia’s Jamie Dwyer, a five-time World Player of the Year, will be one of the key men in the Uttar Pradesh Wizards line-up. The Punjab Warriors will see Indian captain Sardar Singh link up with two-time World Cup finalist Simon Orchard from Australia. Dabang Mumbai, who finished last in the previous edition, will also be invigorated by the inclusion of the exciting Florian Fuchs in their squad.
It may be too early to say it, but Indian hockey as a whole is finally witnessing something of a resurgence. Apart from the recent exploits of the national team, what is particularly heartening is that the crowds have started coming in again. With the Hockey India League also growing in popularity and the Rio Olympics just a few months away, it seems like a good time to be a hockey fan.