Why is Savita Punia not wearing the armband despite being named JSW Soorma Hockey club co-captain alongside Salima Tete?

Why is Savita Punia not wearing the armband despite being named JSW Soorma Hockey club co-captain alongside Salima Tete?

JSW Soorma Hockey Club coach Jude Menezes on Thursday revealed there were two reasons why goalkeeper Savita Punia was neither wearing the captain’s armband nor listed with a ‘C’ beside her name on the official teamsheet, despite being named co-captain alongside Salima Tete ahead of the inaugural Women’s Hockey India League season.

According to Rule 3.1 of the FIH Rules of Hockey, only ‘one player of each team must be appointed as captain.’

“She (Savita) is still the co-captain of the team, but I think the announcers have to just announce one name,” Jude said. Savita had also not featured in the captains’ photoshoot during the opening ceremony, where the trophy was unveiled in the presence of Hockey India dignitaries.

Rule 3.3 adds: ‘All captains must wear a distinctive arm-band or similar distinguishing article on an upper arm or shoulder or over the upper part of a sock.’

Jude says the decision to make Salima wear the armband instead of Savita was also tactical. He said: “It’s a conscious decision not to give Savita the armband because, in case there’s an extra player on the field or if something goes wrong, the captain usually gets a two-minute card. We definitely don’t want our goalkeeper to be penalised. She’s a key member of our team.”

Rule 2.1 provides further context to Jude’s statement. It states: “A maximum of eleven players from each team take part in play at any particular time during the match. If a team has more than the permitted number of players on the field, time should be stopped to correct the situation.

“A personal penalty may be awarded against the captain of the team involved, if inadvertently having too many players on the pitch occurs for a very short period of time and does not materially affect the match. In cases where this occurs and materially affects the match, a personal penalty must be awarded against the captain of the team involved.”