Kandy could well mark the start of a new chapter in the history of hockey. For the first time ever a five-a-side championship will be organized by the Kandy District Hockey Association. Due to Coronavirus problem, they had to halt their inter-club men’s and women’s, sevens,league and the knock-outs. The five-a-side format will be tried upon to revive the game.
The idea is to get the game going, which will make hockey more attractive in the hill capital. . The 5-a-side is a fast-paced format of hockey, much like what futsal is in football. The tournament will follow all the normal hockey rules. The president of the Kandy Hockey R. Maheswaran says this format is bound to grow and this is going to be an exciting change for the sport in Kandy.
So this is something that can get a lot of players into the sport. . Each team will be allowed nine players including one goal keeper. five on the pitch at any given time Smaller playing field (38.5m x 22.5m as opposed to 91.4m x 55m)Smaller duration of game (30 minutes as opposed to 60 minutes) Game is split into three periods of 10 minutes, with a three-minute break and players can push, scoop or flick the ball, not strike it hard
The hockey loving public of Kandy are now making fervent appeals to the committee with the experienced president R. Maheswaran to put the game back on track with the support of the rest of the committee members like H. Marikar, P. Kumara, D. Herath, S.Dissanayake, GG Dharmaratne, MAM Ashraf, N. Paraneetharan, A Godigamuwa and RTRRaheem who are focusing on bringing the game back.
Kandy schoolboys and girls who are doing well at hockey are keen to take up five a side hockey. It will be ideal if Kandy schools too are given a break. Initially they need to organize a workshop for the schools.
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