Hockey: Harmanpreet Singh & Craig Fulton not in favor of penalty corner rule change

Speaking to media on Tuesday, both Indian hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh and Head Coach Craig Fulton opposed the mooted penalty corner rule change.

The change has also been met with criticism and skepticism from fans worldwide. The rule was introduced by the International Hockey Federation as a means to minimize danger to defenders during penalty corners.

While the federation hinted at a penalty corner rule change all the way back in January, they shared the official communication in July. The rule mentions that "the set up of the Penalty Corner is the same as the current rule but the ball must travel at least 5m outside of the circle, beyond the 5m dotted circle, before a goal can be scored".

Speaking on the suggested rule change, Fulton said,

"I am not really a fan of radical changes in the game. I know it is not final yet. They will be very brave to do that but if I will be honest, making penalty corner almost non-existent is not something I am a fan of/."

Explaining his stance further, he added,

"The biggest factor is to minimize the danger for the first rusher and the defenders who usually take the hit. But it will be similarly dangerous if the players can make the pass and flick inside the D."

When asked for his opinion, Singh gave an answer similar to his coach:

"If the ball has to come back to the D and players can flick from there, the danger remains the same for the defenders.”

When questioned on how this proposed rule change will affect drag flickers such as himself, the Indian team captain said:

“We will get more space as we don’t have any first rusher to beat and we can try a drag flick from anywhere.”

Indian Hockey Team at The Asian Champions Trophy

The Indian hockey team will next be in action at the 2023 Asian Championships Trophy. Together with Pakistan, India is the most successful country in the tournament.

With the championship being held in Chennai this time around, the hockey team will certainly be feeling the excitement and pressure that comes with performing on home ground.

The tournament starts on 3 August and will feature a round-robin format with Asia's top six teams facing off against each other.