KARACHI: Former Pakistan hockey captain Olympian Samiullah Khan on Tuesday hailed the change of rule by International Hockey Federation (FIH) of restricting the game to 60 minutes with four halves of 15 minutes each.

“This rule change will bring more action, more scoring and productivity in the field of hockey,” he told newsmen in an interview here on his return from Islamabad after he was

conferred with Sitra-i-Imtiaz by President Mamnoon Hussain alongwith fellow Olympians Hasan Sardar and Hanif Khan on Pakistan Day.

FIH recently announced to reduce the game from 70-minute to 60 with four breaks instead of traditional one half-time. This rule will come into force soon.

Samiullah believed the change will be good in some aspects but at the same time it will reduce the skills and will transform hockey into a power game rather than the classical hockey.

He said the change in rule will also increase the importance of penalty corners. “In the coming months we will see larger number of goals, particularly through penalty corners,” he observed.

Samiullah called upon the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) to immediately launch the implementation of the new rule which will help in grooming new breed of players.