Is drag- flick a dying art?

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 10: 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.

Danger is lurking over the art even though it is still not on life support. With the usage of modern technology which includes video analysis, improved coaching methods and upgraded protective gears for first- rushers, scoring with a drag- flick is becoming more and more difficult now- a- days.

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. Out of the 167 chances, only 40 resulted in goals, which put the conversion rate at a poor 23.95 per cent.

Ask former India captain Sandeep Singh, a lethal drag- flicker in his playing days, about the concern and he sums it up beautifully. “It is getting tougher and tougher to score from drag- flicks 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,” Sandeep said.

“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.

But it is not a concern that came to fore overnight. The game is witnessing low conversion rate from penalty corners since the 2016 Rio Olympics and it is decreasing with every International Hockey Federation ( FIH) event. Argentina’s Peillat, considered as the best drag- flicker of the world currently, feels “surprise element” is the need of the hour.

“It’s all about how the other team defend. You cannot expect the flickers to score from every corner,” he said.