Comparison between female and male professional field hockey players during on field 20 m sprint run with particular reference to the effect of handling a stick

Field hockey is a team sport played through an implement: the hockey stick and it imposes a wide range of physical demands on players such as speed, muscle endurance, power and agility. Using an implement while playing has been proven to affect players both in terms of body posture and metabolic demand during the match. The 20 m sprint is a commonly applied fitness evaluation technique, which in this case is affected by the constraint of carrying the stick. Normally, the 20 m sprint test is assessed by measuring the execution time as a performance metric. The study presents a light and affordable setup to evaluate variables related to athlete’s performance during the test.