Men’s hockey team trying to discover ‘new Indian way’ to do things better, says coach Craig Fulton | Hockey News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Chief Coach Craig Fulton on Friday stated that the national men’s hockey team is currently in a “discovery phase” to explore and implement a “new Indian way” of conducting their activities more effectively.
Fulton, who hails from South Africa, also mentioned that the addition of his compatriot and mental conditioning expert, Paddy Upton, to the team will assist them in developing their own unique style and approach rather than solely relying on external instructions.

The team is actively working towards finding their own voice and identity in order to enhance their performance.

“Paddy has been watching the team train in the gym, taken individual sessions this week. He also addressed the team. He will help identify a new Indian way of how we can do things better than we have done them up till this point,” Fulton told reporters.
Enquired about what this new Indian way is, Fulton, who replaced Australia Graham Reid, said “It’s a discovery phase, we are on a real trajectory. The work previously done by Graham put the team on the map with consistent performance with one or two disappointments on the way.”
“Now we are trying to keep that trajectory but then how do we improve what has already been done and that starts individually before it goes collectively.”
However, Fulton wants the team to find its voice.
“Paddy is not going to be the main voice in the team. We will help the team find its own voice. We don’t want anyone standing and giving instruction and when the persons not there the team can’t function.”
Later this month, the Indian national hockey team is scheduled to travel to Europe to participate in a four-nation tournament. They will face off against England, the Netherlands, and Spain in this competition. Following this, they will compete in the Asian Champions Trophy, which will take place in Chennai.

These two tournaments hold significant importance as they serve as preparation for the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games. The team’s performance in the Asian Games will have a direct impact on their qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
If the Indian team emerges as the champion in Hangzhou, they will secure an automatic qualification for the Olympics.
Therefore, the upcoming tournaments in Europe and the Asian Champions Trophy will play a crucial role in the team’s preparations and aspirations for the Hangzhou Asian Games and subsequent Olympic qualification.
“The ideal goal is always to win tournaments. The realistic goal is to see where you are ranked and how far away you are from the top teams. We are one of the top teams if not the top team.
“We don’t want to go to the qualifying tournament when you have the perfect opportunity to qualify here. So everything is geared around that.”
The South African said the team is working on playing “fluid upfront”.
“We want to get better the way we are trying to play fluid upfront but we are constantly working on our connections going forward to score goals. How we delay and defend to constantly attack.
For the five matches in Spain, Fulton has called up several players who were not part of the Pro League squad.
“I hadn’t worked with all the players in the pro league, so by picking them for this tour we get to look at the other players that are there. That way, we would have seen everyone. It will be a good exposure point to get back into competition.”
Defender Harmanpreet Singh, who will lead the 24-member squad in Spain, said the team’s young guns performing well augurs well for the side.
“It is great that the youngsters who are coming into the squad are doing well. We all push ourselves to do well. It is great to have them within the squad. If they keep on doing well, it helps us, the seniors, to push ourselves more,” Harmanpreet said.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran. Krishan Bahadur Pathak
Defenders: Jarmanpreet Singh, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Manpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Harmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Sanjay
Midfielders: Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Sumit, Nilakanta Sharma, Shamsher Singh, Rajkumar Pal
Forwards: Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Abhishek, Pawan, Dilpreet Singh, Simranjeet Singh, Karthi Selvam.
(With PTI inputs)