New Delhi, Fully aware of the legacy he is chasing, Indian men’s hockey team chief coach Craig Fulton is determined to break the 51-year-old medal jinx at the World Cup, and said the Harmanpreet Singh-led is eyeing to “write its own piece of history” in the upcoming showpiece.
Fulton, who guided India to their second consecutive bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, very well knows that consistency will be key if India are to win a drought ending medal at the upcoming World Cup in The Netherlands and Belgium from August 15 to 30.
Eight-time Olympic gold medallist, India boast of only three World Cup medals, the last of which a gold came way back in the 1975 edition in Kuala Lumpur under Ajit Pal Singh’s captaincy.
“1975 was the last time India won it and what’s important is to get consistency in the tournament and bring that consistency into the Asian Games and we win the Asian Games as a priority as well,” the 51-year-old South African told PTI.
“We are excited about the opportunity. Tournament hockey is about playing your best hockey when it counts, you got to peak at the right time and have really strong squad through all the lines. We have shown in Paris that we can put in an experienced squad with some youth. We have a good chance and we can beat any team on our day.
“I am fully aware about the legacy of Indian hockey and also the fact it hasn’t gone really well in the World Cup, we would love to change that, we would love to write our own piece of history in Indian hockey.”
Placed in Pool D along side Wales, England and arch-rivals Pakistan, Fulton emphasised on the need to start well in the tournament.
“We have tough group and we need to do good job against Wales in game 1 and really focus on building momentum and try to get to the end of the tournament where you play your best hockey.”
Currently ranked eight in the world, Fulton has already set his realistic goals from the World Cup and the Asian Games that follows within three weeks’ time.
The Asian Games holds greater significance for India as it is a qualifying event for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“The ideal goal is we want to win every tournament we play. So in Asia we won every tournament we played, that’s ideal. Realistic is down to ranking. So now we are ranked 7th or 8th in the world now, so we have a 5 per cent chance of winning the World Cup through ranking but that does that stop us winning it, ‘No’.
“But that’s what people will perceive as you are ranked 8th in the world. For me ranking is important after the tournament not before.
“Even though we are no.1 in Asia realistically doesn’t guarantee we are winning if we don’t do our basics right, be 100 per cent in everything, everything needs to fire.”
Fulton selected a mixed squad for the World Cup, clubbing experienced players with youngsters like defender Yashdeep Siwach and striker Aditya Arjun Lagale, and he explained the rationale behind his decision.
“We have nice connection in the last 18 months. Yashdeep started with the Pro League, previously done very well, is a good, solid defender and we need cover in that area.
“Aditya is a long-term prospect. He has played really well, he is an exciting player and we need to give him an important tournament. We need people to cover more than one position, Yashdeep can also play in the midfield.
“Aditya has come long way in the last 14-15 months with us and we see potential in him for the future but we need to give him some real time experience. We felt Aditya needs a good opportunity to play a big tournament.”
India will take on arch-foes Pakistan in their last league game on August 19, and Fulton has one advice for his wards don’t get overawed by the occasion.
“There is a lot of history about India and Pakistan. It’s a perfect rivalry for right reasons but still we have to play the game and not get overawed by the occasion an it’s important to pass this message across.”
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
