Fulton stresses on playing abroad in build-up to WC, Oly

Time of India

21 hours ago

With the Indian men's hockey team losing seven successive matches during the recent European leg of the Pro League, coach Craig Fulton expectedly termed the performance "disappointing" during a virtual press meet on Tuesday.
However, he is already looking to the future and can't wait to see the India 'A' team play in Europe and get accustomed to playing outside India considering the upcoming major events — the World Cup and the Olympics — will be held abroad.
The team, coached by Shivendra Singh, who is also the assistant coach of the Indian men's hockey team, and led by Sanjay, began their campaign on Tuesday against Ireland and will play seven more matches during the tour.
They will face Ireland again on Wednesday before playing twice against France and the Netherlands and once against England and Belgium. While they will play seven matches at Hockey Club Oranje-Rood in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, they will face off against Belgium at Sportcentrum Wilrijkse Plein in Antwerp, Belgium.
"Although we're not playing at the tournament venue, it's just away from India. That's really important because it's quite easy for an Indian team to play in India.
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There everything's on a plate for them. The support is phenomenal," Fulton said in a virtual interaction from the Netherlands.
"How an Indian team performs away from home is the true mark of how the programme is set up and how successful it is. So we're trying to do a lot of games outside India for that exact reason, so that they don't have the full support in all the build-up games."
The India 'A' tour is even more crucial because the coach has a unique challenge on his hands — to prepare the team for the World Cup and the Asian Games that will be held just three weeks apart next year.
"It's a massive challenge, so we are trying to build depth within the positions. As we go in the next three, six, nine months, we'll have a better idea on where we need back up. But once we start to play games and once we qualify, we'll know what we really need," the coach said.
"But the key is that the India 'A' team keeps playing games and these younger players get the opportunity. And I think it'll benefit hockey India in the long run immensely."
Moreover, the coach also wants to have someone in the team who will be able to compliment Harmanpreet Singh, as far as penalty corners are concerned and 'A' team players Amandeep Lakra, Sanjay, Varun and Rajinder Singh will all be looking to cement that spot.
"We'll be monitoring them and seeing how they approach the PCs. It's a challenge replacing Harman, but we're not replacing him now, that's for sure. But at the same time we have to find someone to compliment him and we can also have some variations," added the coach.