KUALA LUMPUR – India national hockey head coach Craig Fulton credited the Men in Blue’s exposure in the FIH Pro League as the reason behind their strong start at the ongoing Paris Olympics.
The 49-year-old South African coach’s response came after his Indian side’s thrilling 3-2 win against New Zealand in their opening Pool B match at the Stade Yves-du-Manoir in Paris yesterday.
India, who won bronze in the 2020 edition in Tokyo, saw its goals come courtesy of Mandeep Singh (24th minute), Vivek Sagar Prasad (34th minute), and skipper Harmanpreet Singh (59th minute).
World number 10 New Zealand, who are also known as the Black Sticks by hockey fans worldwide, scored through Sam Lane (8th minute) and Simon Law Child (53rd minute).
Speaking to Scoop from Paris, Fulton, who was the former assistant head coach for Belgium when they won their maiden Olympic gold in the previous edition, expressed delight with India’s victory but emphasised the need to avoid playing catch-up hockey, as seen in the Pro League, to secure a podium finish in Paris.
India, who made their fourth appearance in the Pro League, which mainly took place in several hockey venues in Europe, finished seventh out of nine teams with 24 points last season.
The fifth edition of the tournament began on 6 December 2023 and finished on 30 June 2024, with Australia clinching its second title.
“I’m not going to say that we had a great season in the Pro League, but the exposure we had playing against some of the top teams in the world helped us to be well-prepared for this year’s Olympics.
“The Pro League was an eye-opener for me and my coaching team on some of the areas that we had to work on, especially our ability to hold on to our leads in the opening two-quarters of our matches.
“We also had this tendency of losing games by a goal deficit due to poor decision-making, and that was also one of the areas that we rectified before coming to Paris. Even in our match today against New Zealand, we were not entirely perfect as we still had to play catch-up hockey after conceding in the first quarter.
“But on the positive side, we did score some really good goals, and it’s important to begin our Olympic campaign with a win. The team is pumped up, and today’s win has boosted our confidence for our next pool match. My goal is to ensure that we keep this momentum going and work hard in achieving a podium finish here in Paris,” said Fulton when contacted.
India, being the most successful team at the Olympics, having won a total of 12 medals (8 golds, 1 silver, and 3 bronze) since making their first appearance in 1928, is grouped with defending champions Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, and Ireland in Pool B.
Fulton’s charges will take on world number six-ranked Argentina who were also the champions in Rio 2016 in their second Pool B match tomorrow.
The Men in Blue are currently ranked number seven in the world with 2,688.79 points. – July 28, 2024
