Is drag-flick now a dying art in hockey?
Out of 167 penalty corners so far in FIH 2018 WC, the conversion rate is only 23.95 per cent
Considered as the cornerstone of field hockey for so long, drag-flicks are fast becoming a 'dying art' because of technological advancement of the game and experts feel it is time to infuse a new life to the scoring technique before it diminishes further.
A statistical assessment of the matches till the pool stages of the ongoing men's World Cup here will give a fair idea about the diminishing effect of penalty corner conversions. A total 167 penalty corners were earned by the 16 participating teams in the 24 matches played so far at the end of the pool stages of the World Cup. But the conversion rate provides a threatening picture which is just 40 resulted goals, in other words 23.95%.
Ask former India captain Sandeep Singh, a lethal dragflicker in his playing days, about the concern and he sums it up beautifully.
"It is getting tougher and tougher to score from dragflicks now-a-days because every team's defence has got smarter. With protective gears in place, the first runners are not afraid today to rush in and take a hit," said Sandeep.
"But there are still some flickers like Gonzalo Peillat who can beat any defence with his power and accuracy. We need variations, variations in not just attempt but in flickers' attempts as well. I mean a flicker needs to use different angles, pace to keep the opposition defence guessing," he said.