MUMBAI: While all international hockey tournaments are played across four quarters (15 minutes a quarter), almost all domestic tournaments in India are still being played in two halves of 35 minutes each.
If the four quarters per game format is the way forward, it is perplexing why this rule is not being implemented at the domestic level even after being introduced in September 2014. Ex-India forward Yuvraj
Valmiki
, who just returned after a 50-day stint playing in Germany's second division league says most of the leagues, including a few in the United States have this rule in place. And he insists that the four quarters format intensifies the game.
"It is the way forward. But I guess it has not been implemented in India because of technical reasons. The conventional 35-minute per half game used to get a bit sluggish towards the end of the half. But when a match is spread across four quarters, it gets exciting. Moreover, the teams can regroup after every quarter and chalk out shortcomings," Valmiki said after his team Central Railway defeated Union Bank of India 5-2 in a 14th
Guru Tegh Bahadur
hockey Gold Cup group encounter at the Mumbai Hockey Association Limited ground on Friday.
The
International Hockey Federation
(FIH) confirmed only international and a few top domestic tournaments have the sanction of organizing the four-quarter format tournament. But it also admitted that implementing the four quarter rule across countries is being worked upon.
"Hockey rules state that the game is played in two periods of 35 minutes. However an FIH regulation permits international hockey to be played in four quarters of 15 minutes. Currently only top level domestic leagues are permitted to use FIH regulations. All other competitions should follow FIH's official Rules of Hockey. However, there are discussions currently taking place to review the FIH Rules to incorporate the 4 x 15 minute regulation so that hockey is aligned across all levels of the game," Daniel Parkar, Communication Manager, FIH responded to a mail.
Field umpire Javed Shaikh, who has officiated in three Asian Games, a World Cup and at the Rio Olympics, threw open an interesting perspective. "The four-quarter per game format was introduced keeping a few things in mind. The shorter periods of games gave broadcasters the leverage to generate some revenue. Implementing this format at the domestic level has its share of problems, though. The technical bench at the domestic level is not adept to keep a track of the seconds that are consumed in between breaks," Shaikh said.