How is a penalty corner taken?

• The clock stops. In FIH tournaments a 40-second countdown gives defenders time to put on masks and kit.
• The ball goes on the back-line inside the circle, at least 10 metres from the goal-post, on whichever side the attack prefers.
• The attacker taking it (the injection) has at least one foot outside the field and pushes or hits the ball without raising it on purpose.
• Other attackers stand on the field outside the circle, with nothing touching the ground inside it.
• At most five defenders, including the goalkeeper, stand behind the back-line, not touching the ground inside the field. The other defenders go beyond the centre-line.
• Nobody except the injector may be within 5 metres of the ball when it is played.
• Until the ball is played, no other attacker may enter the circle and no defender may cross the back-line or the centre-line.
• The injector may not play the ball again until another player has.
• No goal can be scored until the ball has gone outside the circle. Teams usually stop it at the top of the circle and shoot from there.
• Substitutions are not allowed until the corner is completed, except to replace an injured or suspended defending goalkeeper.
• In FIH tournaments, every defending field player must wear a face mask until the first shot.

The fixed positions make it a fair contest between a rehearsed attack and a rehearsed defence. The rule that the ball must leave the circle first makes the attack set up a shot rather than score straight from the injection.