A different ball game which has failed to keep pace with globalisation

Back home, in India, football fanatics stayed up late, ready with their midnight snacks to gobble up the terrific fare dished out on the Doordarshan network. Merci DD, they cried!

And amidst all the talk about Latin flair prevailing over the insipid, outdated Anglo-Saxons, one fact that caught the eye was that Euro 2000 was what it was, because the officials were willing to relax rules to have fewer stoppages and thereby encourage a free-flowing, attractive game of soccer.

And it is this aspect that turns the attention to what was once Indian sports fans’ obsession — hockey, and also, to the famous rivalry between sub-continent’s wizards and European masters. The rivalry continues, but it has lost its charm. For, there was a time, when the hockey fans would be glued to their transistors, hanging to every move their players made in the international arena. Today, only a handful would bother to even switch on their TV sets to keep a tab on India’s progress in the coming Sydney Olympics.

True, these are two different ball games we are talking about, and hockey could never catch up with football as a world sport. But in the success of football lies a lesson for hockey.

What is it that has seen hockey slip down the popularity charts? The game has become faster, rules have been changed to encourage goal-scoring, but the spectators are simply not interested. So, what is bogging down the game?

For one, there are still too many stoppages keeping the fact in mind that the game is more dangerous than football. There have been several brain-storming sessions in recent past, where the officials of the Rules Board of International Hockey Federation (FIH) have tried to come up with ways to make the game more attractive, less complicated.

One of the first revolutionary changes made in the game was introduction of artificial turf, which indeed made the game faster. Among the other rules to have had a major impact, is the decision to do away with off-side. It has led to increase in the number of goals scored, but has also made the game more confusing, as far as spectators are concerned. Those having grown up watching football, find it difficult to understand why strikers are lurking behind rival defenders.

Another problem for the spectator is the interpretation of penalty corners. It is difficult for a layman to come to terms with the fact that a foul outside the circle can be penalised with a penalty corner, which can easily lead to a goal — "punishment not commensurate with crime". For, 80 per cent of penalty corners are awarded for unintentional offences. This also leads to unwanted stoppages.

During the 1999 Champions Trophy, the officials also tried to change the interpretation of “foot fault” or “carrying the ball” as it is known in playing parlance, in order to encourage free flow of the game, but it only ended up creating controversies.

Given the dangerous nature of the sport, there are too many dos and don’ts involved. A section of Rules book deals exclusively with these, and there are eight clauses on the use of the stick and equipment. All this does not make things easy for the uninitiated.

At FIH’s 75th anniversary in Alexandria (Egypt) last October, a forum on future rules of hockey was organised which was attended by 60 people from all facets of the game. The forum identified the goals of future, to make the game more attractive and popular. On the top of the list was penalty corner, and how to make them simpler, safer and more attractive. They also stressed upon the need to create more playing space and to have fewer stoppages.

It was interesting to note that issues like eliminating the circle and increasing the size of the goal also came up — though they did not have any takers. Some talked about keeping the traditional, artistic look. However, these are changing times, and the game has to move on.

The sub-continent members of the Rules Board — Pargat Singh (India) and Islahuddin Siddiqui (Pakistan) — even came up with the idea of “penalty attacks", whereby the attacker moves up from the 25-yard line, with only the goal-keeper to beat.

Besides the rules that create ambiguity in the minds of spectators, it is apparent that the world body has failed to market a sport that still carries the tag of "amateur". TV distribution of FIH events have grown significantly to 67 territories worldwide, and yet hockey lovers in India were left high and dry when the Elite Six clashed in the Champions Trophy a couple of months ago.

Hockey is an Olympic sport played in 117 countries of the world, but in India, long considered “the home of hockey”, there are few sincere efforts to sustain interest in the game. Ironically, with Sydney Games around the corner, the focus is back on hockey. After that, it will be the same old story of struggle and neglect.