On the field, athletes look very strong, tough, and untouchable but what the fans don’t see is what happens behind the scenes. Athletes and their superstitions, it remains an established combination. The superstitions, the tics, and the rituals are usually held in private.
For several years now, Belgian hockey has been growing impressively, with almost 43% of members joining in the last five years. This is due to the international sports results achieved both by our young and senior national teams as well as the results achieved by the different clubs.
For reference, a penalty corner (pc) is granted in the case of unintentional fault in the circle or willful misconduct in the 23-meter zone. It is played from the end line (via the player entering the ball into play) to attackers placed outside the circle. The ball must leave the circle to be able to score a goal. An attacker playing the ball in the circle must score the goal. Only four defenders and the goalkeeper are allowed to defend the goal. The pc has become the lethal weapon of several national teams who have true sharpshooters such as the Dutch player Mink van der Weerden.
In 1924, our country was one of the founding members of the International Federation, together with seven other nations. This involvement has naturally led to our representatives often holding important positions within the IHF, which was initially based in Brussels. The most famous among them is certainly René Franck, who sat as general secretary from 1950 to 1966 and then as president from 1966 to 1983. Since 1984, a trophy bears his name, the “René Frank Fair Play Trophy”. Every two years, it is awarded to the team or personality having demonstrated the most sportsmanship over a period of two to four years.
The big surprise of this tournament is undoubtedly the heatwave. The weather is one of the main concerns for every organiser of any outdoor event in Belgium. But usually it is for fear of the event being rained out. On the contrary, these days some places around the hockey venue that may be cause for concern for the lack of water.
During the 1970s, hockey was the first national sport, a sort of religion for the whole country, however the situation has changed a great deal in India today. Now, cricket is the real cult for the 1.27 billion inhabitants. While there are just 30,000 players throughout the country, hockey does remain extremely popular in some regions such as Penjab, Orissa, Mumbai, and Bengalore.
