March 9, 2002	Saturday	Zilhaj 24, 1422

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KUALA LUMPUR, March 8: Australian coach Barry Dancer said Friday that the International Hockey Federation’s decision of reverting to the 12-team format from the next World Cup was not good for the game.

“It is a pity that the FIH did not consider the broader picture and chose to have 12 teams in the next edition of the tournament,” Dancer said.

The 10th World Cup that comes to a close here Saturday involved 16 teams for the first time in the history of the tournament, and featured 72 matches, played over two weeks. “Instead of going back to 12 teams, all the FIH needed to do was to extend the event by three days,” Dancer said.

Germany captain Florian Kunz, named FIH Player of the Year Wednesday, however held different views. “This has been a long hard tournament and the heat and humidity here could have proven dangerous for the players,” he said.

The 16-team competition in Kuala Lumpur meant that each side had to play a gruelling seven preliminary matches in 10 days.