Slamming the International Hockey Federation for making changes to the penalty-corner rule just before the Olympics, former India captain V Bhaskaran accused the world body of "succumbing to the pressure of European teams".
"It is ridiculous on the part of the FIH to bring into force a new rule less than three months before the Athens Games. It is evident that the FIH perhaps succumbed to the pressure of the Europeans," Bhaskaran, who led India to the last of its eight Olympic hockey gold medals in Moscow in 1980, said.
"It would have been ideal if the FIH had introduced this before a pre-Olympic event and also applied the same during the Olympic qualifiers," he added.
He said Asian teams including India, who are looking to win a medal in the mega event after a gap of 24 years, would be hard hit by the new rule.
"This new rule will definitely not help the Indian team. On the contrary, it will aid only the European style of play.
"The South Koreans, who are known for their 'rush' in straight line during corner shots will be the worst sufferers."
Bhaskaran advised the Indian team to practice hard to adapt to the changes.
"It is necessary for our team to practice this new rule which will be applied at the Athens Games," he said.
