A dream Hockey Asia Cup has just ended, with India playing like invincibles. To defeat any international side 20-0 and 16-0 is no easy achievement. This means a goal every four minutes or so. Critics might opine that defeating teams like Sri Lanka and Thailand by huge margins is no big thing, but everybody would agree that defeating Korea by a margin of 7-2 in the finals is a great achievement.
 
The tournament was just perfect for the Indian team. It will be remembered for exceptional field goals by a forward who was on the back foot off late. Prabhjot Singh has been in and out of the side but this time he meant business. A lot of other good things happened during the tournament, but suddenly, in the midst of all these beautiful field goals, the IHF came out with a penalty stroke against the players.

A rule suddenly cropped up which stated that for every goal scored the team stood to win a cash bounty of Rs.1000, but for every goal conceded it would stand to lose double that amount. Simply ridiculous!

First, the sports ministry take hockey out of their priority list after a bronze medal-winning performance at the Azlan Shah, and now this Tughlaqi rule by the federation, which should be sympathetic towards the players. The rule was introduced after India defeated Korea 3-2 in the league stages, and a simple calculation suggests the team stood to lose Rs.1000 after the win. Wow, what a reward!

'If the Federation don't stop initiating rules like this, it will be really difficult to keep the enthusiasm going'

Imagine, had India won the game in the finals with the same score, they would have been penalised Rs. 1000 rupees for winning a tournament. Crazy!

Hockey is a high-scoring affair where a lot of goals are scored by both teams in a match. In such a situation a rule like this can really spread panic among players, most of whom are from a financially unstable backgrounds. Imagine the pressure cooker scenario since the team is now going to face European teams in the qualifiers soon.

The one good thing that’s happened off late is that there’s not much chopping and changing in the team and the team is looking like a unit ready to face any side. But if the Federation don't stop initiating rules like this, it will be really difficult to keep the enthusiasm going. It's up to the Federation to sort the problem out. They will have to decide whether they are going to play the role of a guardian, and encourage the players, or play the role of a dominating authority, which is not beneficial to the side or the national game.