CHENNAI: After winning bronze at the Paris Olympics, India men's hockey team's head coach Craig Fulton did not have much time to celebrate as he had to start preparing for the next cycle.
The 50-year-old started the journey to LA 2028 on a positive note by winning the Asian Champions Trophy and gave a sneak peek into what the new team is going to look like. He put together a young squad and the team delivered when given an opportunity by winning gold. Fulton handed several players their debuts this year, indicating that he is looking for a smooth transition. One specific area where Fulton wants to try more youngsters is the forward line.
"We have a good competitive squad now, but some of the players in the current squad may not make it to LA 2028. So, we are looking to open up the squad and give youngsters opportunities to see what they can come up with. We need an ecosystem with a good junior side (U21), U-25 group, and the senior team," Fulton told TOI.
Fulton will have the opportunity to watch India 'A' side from close quarters as he will be travelling for an exposure tour to Europe, starting next week. The India U-25 side will play against Belgium, the Netherlands and two club teams. "The main focus will be to set up a strong 'A' team and help them get good game time," the coach said here.
Ahead of LA 2028, Fulton has a major task at hand — the World Cup in 2026. India have won the World Cup only once, in 1975, and have since failed to even make it to the podium. "With respect to the preparation of the World Cup, we need to play more matches outside India and adapt accordingly. The journey starts next year, and we need to win the Asia Cup to qualify for the mega event," Fulton added.
'HIL should be played at more venues'
Fulton feels that taking the HIL to multiple cities would have been a good option – the first edition will only be held in Ranchi (women) and Rourkela (men). "The relaunch of the HIL is a good start. It will be nice if teams get to travel to other parts of the country. That is not the case now. The challenge is the duration of the tournament will increase if teams start travelling. Overall, it is a good beginning."
