LAHORE: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) has already introduced two new rules in domestic matches which were recently approved at an FIH Executive Board meeting last week.

PHF secretary Asif Bajwa said that according to the new rules the Executive Board had agreed that a penalty-stroke competition should be replaced by a penalty shoot-out competition, which would be incorporated in the FIH Tournament Regulations. But he said the PHF had already been carrying out that practice for the last two years.

He said in another change in the rules, there was also change in curve of hockey-stick, and the PHF had already started the use of new hockey-stick in the Super League matches.

He said as the PHF had anticipated the above two changes, it had started its practice in the Super League and definitely it would help the Pakistan team to take maximum advantage of those new amendments.

“It will be beneficial for our hockey and I hope Pakistan will be in better position to take maximum benefits of these new rules in the next competitions, especially in the London Olympics,” he said.

Bajwa added that since a blue colour astroturf was being used in the Olympics Games for the first time, the PHF was in negotiation with the federal sports ministry to lay down at least one such type of turf in Islamabad for the team's better preparation for the mega event.

Interestingly, the FIH had decided to do away the experience of new turf in the world biggest sports gala.