Hockey India (HI) president and former India skipper Dilip Tirkey spoke about new coach Craig Fulton, the revival of the Hockey India League (HIL), the future of the India-Pakistan bilateral engagements and much more on the sidelines of the Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) in Chennai recently. Excerpts:
It’s early days in the Fulton era but what is your first impression?
Fulton is a very experienced coach in world hockey. He helped Ireland qualify for the Olympics after a very long gap and he was the assistant coach with Belgium for many years. It’s a big thing to be a coach for a long time with a top team. He would have gained plenty of experience with them. Belgium became a champion in all major tournaments during his time. We are seeing improvement from the Indian players day by day during his stint here. Asian Games is a very important tournament for India with the 2024 Paris Olympics qualification at stake and wish we produce better hockey under Fulton.
Was there an emphasis on changing the style when it came to his appointment?
For many years, the Indians have been playing under international coaches. They know world hockey well, and they understand European hockey well too. Fulton is the same: he understands European hockey well and the players will definitely want to adapt to the style he hopes to implement.
When will official talks start about HIL? What is the progress made in terms of logistics, teams, deliberations with other associations...
HI’s main agenda is to revive HIL. Already Big Bank Media Ventures Pvt. Ltd. has come on board as the commercial and marketing partner. The men’s league will have eight teams. We are also planning to have a women’s version with four sides. We feel that HIL will have a worldwide reach and the tournament will provide plenty of exposure for the Indian youngsters. We had asked for a window last year to the FIH but weren’t able to get it. We will try again. Once we get the window, we will move forward. Talks are still on for where those eight teams will come from. There has been a lot of interest, including from corporate sectors. In six months, there will be more developments and we will have an announcement on the same.
The appointment of Paddy Upton as the mental conditioning coach was a first for Indian hockey. Will we see a similar arrangement for the women’s team?
Of course. We will take help from him too [for the women’s team]. Upton is currently with the men’s team on a short-term deal. If the women’s team also needs him, we will take his support for them. We will plan for the women’s team, too, in the future.
“Even through the difficulties [current political climate], India and Pakistan played here. In future, too, we can organise a Test series between the two in India with the approval of the government. That will be great for the future of hockey”Dilip Tirkey
