CHENNAI: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has abandoned the trials for the newly proposed penalty corner rule with immediate effect, FIH president Tayyab Ikram said on Friday.
“We will consider other options but we are in big favour to keep the penalty corner in the same format as before. If there is any change, it will revolve around this very format,” Ikram said on the sidelines of the Asian Champions Trophy semifinal between Korea and Malaysia here.
The FIH president said the decision was not taken based under anyone’s pressure, but to keep the sport’s popularity and safety in mind. “It is a genuine evaluation. The main thing is that we want to keep penalty corners as compact as possible. It not only enhances goal scoring, but also gives glamour to our sport. We want to keep it that way. But we need to continue working to enhance the safety of our athletes,” he added.
The proposed rule had required the ball to travel 5m outside the circle for PCs, which many felt would have endangered the art of drag-flicking.
