With its future as Olympic sport below scrutiny, there ar over simply medals at stake for hockey players at the city Games and also the pressure is on to supply a crowd-pleasing tournament, cementing their place within the top-hole of world competition.
Despite price ticket sales of 630,000 creating it the third biggest-selling event at the 2012 Games in London, hockey narrowly avoided being born from the Olympic roll in 2013 over issues organisers weren't doing enough to have interaction new fans.
“There was a perception that we have a tendency to weren't a fan-focused sport,” aforementioned Kelly Fairweather, chief govt of the International Hockey Federation (FIH).
“To be honest, we have a tendency to were aghast … it absolutely was a touch of a awaken decision.”
The FIH has responded by introducing variety of changes to the manner hockey are contend and broadcast at the city Games.
Those embrace a move to 15-minute quarters Associate in Nursingd programming longer for tv replays and analysis to showcase players’ virtuoso skills with a ball moving at over a hundred and sixty kilometres an hour, Fairweather aforementioned.
For the primary time in Olympic competition, the city hockey tournament will feature quarter-finals, creating it the last sport to adopt the format at the Games.
Fairweather aforementioned he hoped the move would provide fans the thrills Associate in Nursingd excitement of an extended knock-out competition whereas raising the stakes for groups World Health Organization currently need to end within the prime four of every cluster, exploit very little area for error within the early stages of the tournament.
“Hockey has had a great deal of catching up to try and do,” he said. “The Games ar the top of our sport … to own been removed would are devastating.”
Underlining the heightened attention from prime sporting officers, International Olympic Committee head Thomas Bach and international organisation Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon joined hockey fans looking the gap stages of the city Games’ initial men’s pool match between Argentina and also the The Netherlands on Saturday.
Argentina, World Health Organization ar presently seventh within the FIH world rankings, fought exhausting to carry their world No. a pair of and London 2012 silver-medallist opponents to a 3-3 draw, delighting fans on either side and setting the tone for what organisers hope are a contest ought to have this and future Olympic Games.
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