4 months ago
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When Craig Fulton took complaint of the Indian men’s hockey squad successful April 2023, his archetypal large duty was the Hangzhou Asian Games. The South African delivered, guiding India to golden astatine the Games.
But this time, the situation is tougher. In the abstraction of conscionable 3 weeks, India volition vie successful 2 marquee tournaments: the FIH World Cup successful August and the Asian Games successful September, which besides service arsenic a qualification lawsuit for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. With specified a choky schedule, expecting the squad to highest astatine some events volition beryllium demanding, admitted the 51-year-old caput coach.
“It’s highly difficult. But, we person to make much depth. Olympic qualification is crucial, but the World Cup besides carries tremendous past and emotion — the past clip India won a (gold) medal was successful 1975. Our nonsubjective is to execute good successful both. Ideally, you request 2 groups — a halfway that plays some tournaments, supported by antithetic combinations and caller legs. Our purpose is to highest successful some tournaments. That’s what we’re moving towards,” Fulton said.
In this interview, the caput manager spoke astir the value of Hockey India League, and however players from HIL mightiness beryllium picked based connected their show successful aboriginal games for the FIH Pro League matches successful India and overseas among different things.
Excerpts:
The World Cup successful August 2026 and the Asian Games successful September are lone a fewer weeks apart. How volition the squad absorption grip the workload implicit specified an extended period?
It’s highly difficult. If you were successful Europe and told teams that they had to play the World Cup and then, 3 weeks later, an Olympic qualifier similar the European Games, I don’t deliberation they would judge it. That’s however challenging it is.
There are lone 3 weeks betwixt the World Cup and the commencement of the Olympic qualifier. Our main focus, therefore, is to physique much depth. That’s wherefore we person the India-A squad and wherefore we sent them to the Sultan Azlan Shah tournament, resting immoderate elder players. We are trying to guarantee our strongest squad peaks for some tournaments, which is precise difficult. So, we’ll request greater extent for the World Cup squad — not a weaker team, but 1 that allows america to negociate workloads, portion keeping successful caput that the Asian Games is the qualifier for the LA 2028 Olympics. To highest successful some tournaments. Ideally, that means having 2 groups--a halfway that plays some events, supported by caller legs for each tournament. That’s the perfect scenario, and we’re inactive moving towards it.
Is the Hockey India League (HIL) the close level for young players to interruption into the nationalist squad now?
Identification already happens done the u-21s, the India A squad and the elder team. What we’re looking for successful the HIL is aboriginal potential. You can’t prime idiosyncratic consecutive from present and propulsion him into a large tournament, but you besides don’t privation to suffer talent. Once you place it, the cardinal questions are: wherever bash we spot that player, and however bash we physique the close structures astir him truthful that helium tin perform.
Sanjay captained the Indian men’s squad astatine the Sultan Azlan Shah tourney successful November past year. How bash you measure him?
He’s a versatile defender who tin play successful much than 1 position. He has played arsenic a right-back and tin besides run astatine centre-back. That’s the thought with galore younger players coming through.
Several juniors from the FIH inferior men’s World Cup did not play with the elder squad but lone against them successful the SAI campy successful Bengaluru. How volition they merge erstwhile they yet measurement up?
Yes, it’s not ideal. There were differences of sentiment connected which juniors should play successful the inferior squad and who shouldn’t. That said, it’s encouraging that we present person different goalkeeper successful Prince Deep Singh. We present person 5 goalkeepers—M.S. Mohith, Pawan, Suraj Karkera, Krishan Pathak and Prince--which is simply a steadfast situation.
Are you already looking astatine players from HIL for the upcoming FIH Pro League successful February 2026?
t’s inactive aboriginal days successful the HIL. We cognize what we’re looking for. We’ll commencement assessing performances astir games 10 to 15. If there’s consistency successful circumstantial positions and players are performing well, we’ll past sanction the squad for the FIH Pro League, which includes matches some successful India and abroad.
Apart from Indian skipper Harmanpreet Singh, however bash you spot the improvement of different drag-flickers?
We’ve been moving connected that well. At the Sultan Azlan Shah tournament, we scored respective penalty-corner goals done antithetic players, though we didn’t people arsenic galore tract goals. We present person much options. Once the radical comes together, we’ll enactment a beardown program successful spot for penalty-corner variations and nonstop flicking. We’ve got existent firepower successful punishment corners.
