OCTOBER 1: For once, India is keeping pace with other countries in introducing the latest international hockey trends. It has the Indian Women's Hockey Federation (IWHF) to thank.At the Junior Women's National championship here, IWHF experimented an International Hockey Federation (FIH) suggestion, issued this year, that, when implemented, will revolutionise the dreaded penalty corner. The rule will not be enforced till after the 2000 Sydney Olympics.But that has not stopped IWHF secretary Amrit Bose, a member of the FIH Rule Board since February, from pioneering the experiment in India. Speaking to The Indian Express, Ms Bose said, ``We are always the last ones to try out new rules. We wake up at too late, and then we cannot give our opinion on it, as we have not experimented it. The Germans and the Australians not only forward their findings but also their recommendations. And they are accepted, while we just watch and stare. I decided to try the experiment on my players, so that, this time, we arenot caught unawares.''Ms Bose will also be one of the 10-12 members of the Board that will decide if the rule should become a FIH law.According to the new rule, short corner conversions will not be taken from the penalty circle (D). Instead, the offence will be stationed at a circle, concentric to and five yards beyond the D. Since goals have to be scored from the inside the D, all short corners are rendered indirect. It would put the Bovelanders and the Suhail Abbases out of business. It promises bliss for the Indians, who are not known for their penalty corner prowess.The rule was forwarded by the FIH Rule Advisory Board, of which Olympian Pargat Singh is a member, to the Rule Board for consideration. The latter has asked the junior league in all countries to experiment the innovation. Their feedback will then be sifted. ``I will be in a position to talk first-hand about our findings at the next Rule Board meeting, at Egypt on October 24. That itself should help the Indian cause.''The go-gettingMs Bose revealed that other novelties under consideration are the introduction of a third umpire (a proposal that has been forwarded to the FIH Umpiring Committee) and a change in stick design.``I have already asked a local manufacturer to provide me with a sample of the new stick, with a more rounded bottom, based on the drawings,'' she said, reiterating the IWHF's mission to go where Indian men's hockey hesitate to tread.IWHF charts its own courseFIH has asked member countries to amalgamate their women's and men's federations into one body by Year 2000. But that is unlikely to stop the IWHF from charting its own course.Eager to impress that she is no ``rubber-stamp secretary,'' Amrit Bose wants others in the women hockey sorority to join the party. Citing another FIH proviso that all women matches be officiated by women, she says, ``we are keen to make the IWHF a woman's-only zone. I have implored former internationals like Selma D'Silva to join the movement.''Among the agenda of therevolution is a revival of the club culture, weekend hockey, and popularisation of six-a-side tournaments. The larger mission is to make Indian players more aggressive. ``Our girls tend to push the ball. I want them to convert those into half-hits. We have to play a hard game if we are to match the Europeans.''The amalgamation is one topic she does not want to talk about. ``The IHF and IWHF have come together and we have had discussions. We know what we want, they know what they want,'' she said, leaving a lot to be read between the lines.The IHF community is known to be orthodox, and it seems unlikely that women will be offered more than a foothold in the establishment. Imagine a woman officiating a men's final that must be a nightmare haunting the IHF patriarchs. But the options are mouth-watering. KPS Gill's recent acts have not made him too popular. And after all, the presidents of amalgamated hockey bodies in USA, Trinidad and Tobago, England and Canada are women .
