A day after the Indian women’s hockey team held China to a 2-2 draw in their World Cup opener at Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen, Netherlands, coach Sjoerd Marijne questioned the interpretation of the penalty-stroke rule by the International Hockey Federation’s (FIH) Rules Committee.Marijne took to social media to share footage of China’s Ying Zhang taking the penalty stroke from three different angles, questioning whether the action constituted a “dragging” action, which is not permitted under the rules.“Good to know, this is apparently NOT dragging. The reaction of the rules committee from the FIH after asking clarification is that this clip of the penalty stroke is not dragging. I have just asked it for clarification what to tell my players,” Marijne wrote.Zhang’s penalty stroke came in the dying seconds of the first half and helped China draw level after India had taken the lead through Navneet Kaur. China eventually held on for a 2-2 draw.According to Article 13.7(i) of the FIH Rules of Hockey, “The player taking the penalty stroke must push, flick or scoop the ball and is permitted to raise it to any height. Using a ‘dragging’ action to play the ball at a penalty stroke is not permitted.”The distinction between a flick and a drag, however, appeared to be at the heart of Marijne’s concern. By sharing the footage and seeking clarification from the rules committee, the Dutchman had raised questions over how the rule is interpreted and communicated to teams and players.
Former Netherlands international goalkeeper Jaap Stockmann, who was present at the stadium, felt the action did appear to resemble a drag. “Indeed, it looked like a short drag. I was in the stadium and that’s the first thing I thought,” Stockmann told TOI.Chris Ciriello, former Australian international and one of the world’s leading drag-flickers, also felt the action “looked like a drag”.“Technically, the ball has to move in one direction and it must be one movement. We had a goal disallowed in the semifinal against Germany at London Olympics because one of our players dragged the ball,” Ciriello told TOI.“It is unfortunate, but my rule to my players is that there is enough time and opportunity across the whole match not to focus only on one decision. Be disciplined, take control of your chances and don’t leave it to the umpires.”He did, however, add: “They (India) played well. Exciting to see what they can achieve.”Marijne later deleted the posts from both Instagram and X.FIH, however, responded to TOI’s request for clarification on what constitutes a dragging action during. “A dragging action occurs when the player moves the ball along the ground with the stick for a discernible distance before releasing it. This is characteristic of the drag component of a drag-flick and is not permitted when taking a penalty stroke,” FIH said in a reply to TOI.“The distinction is not determined solely by the length or shape of the stick movement. Umpires consider whether the ball is propelled from its stationary position as part of the push or flick, or whether it is first moved along the ground with the stick through a discernible part of the action before being released. The movement of the ball in relation to the player’s stance and body may also assist in making that judgement.”FIH clarification suggests that the key consideration is not simply the apparent movement of the stick, but whether the ball itself is moved along the ground for a discernible distance before being released.
