‘We want to win Asian Games and stand on World Cup podium’: India men’s hockey coach Craig Fulton

Fifty-one years after India last lifted the men’s hockey World Cup, coach Craig Fulton wants his players to write their own chapter in the tournament’s history rather than dwell on the past. However, India’s latest World Cup campaign comes with an unusual complication: the Asian Games, a gateway to direct qualification for the Olympic Games, begins just three weeks later. The South African says India will take both challenges one game at a time, with the team focused on executing its plans rather than being weighed down by expectations. In an interview with AMIT CHAUDHARY, conducted before the saffron jersey controversy, Fulton talks about the pressure of expectations, India’s chances, what he thinks of his players and more. Excerpts:

It’s been 51 years since India won the World Cup. Was this on the mind during the training camp?

We want to write our own piece of history. It’s such a difficult tournament. The last few times it was hosted in India, it was very difficult for the host nation. It’s either the best place to be or the worst place to be. At the same time, in 1975, 51 years ago, the then captain [Ajit Pal Singh] who lifted the trophy, it was his second World Cup. And now it’s Harmanpreet’s second World Cup. So, that’s a nice omen as well. We’re 8th in the ranking and we’ve been given a 5-6% chance of winning this tournament, which is great for us because there’s no pressure on us. So, we come in under the radar. We have had a great block of games against Pakistan, England, Germany and Holland. We’ve been training well, the boys are hungry and we’re just going to take it one game at a time. We know the gravitas of this tournament and the immense pride it would bring to Indian hockey if we could stand on the podium; even better if we dream big and win it.


What would qualify as a successful World Cup campaign?

It all depends. You’ve got two backto-back campaigns that are really important: the World Cup for its own reason and the Asian Games for the Olympic ticket. So, if we win the World Cup and don’t win the Asian Games, would the World Cup be tarnished? No, I don’t think so. And if we don’t win the World Cup, but win the Asian Games gold and get the Olympic ticket, would the Asian Games win be tarnished? No. So, to do both is extremely difficult, but at the same time, we’re going to try our best to do it. We want to win the Asian Games and we want to stand on the podium at the World Cup.

The Asian Games starts just three weeks after the World Cup. Did that realisation make you change the training process?

Of course, it did because there aren’t many tournaments that go back-to-back with the prize on the line being an Olympic berth after the World Cup. If you said this to the top European teams that you’re playing the Euros straight after the World Cup, they would just laugh at you. They’d say it’s impossible. So, the Asian teams — Malaysia, Japan, Pakistan and us (India) — we find ourselves in that situation. It’s not like we didn’t know about it. We just had to change the way we planned and prepared for it, that’s all.

Can you elaborate?

It’s just that all the strength and conditioning has to be done differently to cope in both tournaments. Then we used the squad of 24 players and not a smaller one. And 3-4 goalkeepers to try and get the maximum out of everyone without pushing anyone over the line where we bring in injuries or anything like that. So, we’re on track and there is enough time in terms of recovery before going into the Asian Games.

Does playing back-to-back tournaments of such importance put the Asian teams at a disadvantage?

Yeah, 100% it does. It won’t put us at a disadvantage at the World Cup, obviously, but it does put us at a disadvantage at the Asian Games. So, the other teams that are not going to the World Cup will have only one target. That’s what they’re looking at and hoping one of the four teams slips up somewhere.

How do you rate this team?

Highly skilled, highly competitive, highly confident. The way we approach this tournament, it’s really about process, process, process because you could jump so far ahead and lose yourself in all the permutations. We’re just focusing on the 15th [August game vs Wales]. That is our most important game.

While selecting the squad, what qualities did you look for?

Connectivity — how well do they work together. Trust is a massive thing; sometimes it’s not really quantifiable because you can’t measure it until you’re in your worst or best phases. Players who can play [in] more than one position, past experiences, and potential were also important. We wanted some younger talent to be exposed to this level and play in major tournaments because you’ve got to set a goal for the future. If we won the World Cup and 10 guys retired, that wouldn’t really help us, would it? We have a team that trusts and is able to adapt quickly.

You’ve been with Harmanpreet Singh for a long time now. How do you see his captaincy evolve over the years?

Sometimes, when you are a younger player, you have no responsibility. And that’s what you want for a young, talented player. But as soon as that player starts to push into the top five in the team, guess what happens? He takes on more responsibility. At the end of the day, it’s all about leadership. What solutions can he give to his team to help them win and get through difficult phases on and off the pitch. You have had difficult moments in tournaments like the World Cup at home and then thrived in Paris and in Tokyo. How do you quantify that? You can’t put a finger on why it happens then and why it didn’t happen in another time. But at the same time, everything rises and falls on leadership. So, his communication is very important because he’s my right arm.

What are the strengths of this team?

The strength of our team is the ability to adapt. We are a great counterattacking team. We’ve got better and better with the philosophy of defending — defend-to-win — but also the ability to press, to counter. That’s where we are at now. We want to press, we want to counter from everywhere and we want to be able to get the outcomes from those counters. But if it’s not happening, can we defend? Can we put a really good team under pressure, frustrate them, wear them down and hopefully get our opportunities and take them when it counts, like Paris? We were able to do that at times there. So that’s a good place for us to be.

How do you shield your players from the pressure of expectations?

We go back to training. Everything that we do, it’s not pressure, it’s focus on doing your job. So, we have a lot of role definition in our team and we rely heavily on those players, individually and collectively, doing their job. And once you do your job and do it consistently, normally the score will take care of itself. So, we are process driven. We are all in on our tactics. We know we are fit and strong enough. Mentality wise, we have to be super calm when it’s not going our way and not get too excited when everything’s falling into place. Just a little bit up, a little bit down and hold the line. That’s it. We bend, we never break, whatever’s going on. And that’s an important place for a team to be psychologically, because your first game is as important as the last game, you need to perform when it counts.