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After guiding India to a historic second consecutive bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, head coach Craig Fulton faces a new challenge: preparing his team for the upcoming Asian Champions Trophy in China. Despite the team's recent celebrations, Fulton remains focused on the task at hand.Reflecting on the Paris campaign, Fulton expressed satisfaction with the team's performance. Despite falling short of their ultimate goal of a gold medal, he praised the team's resilience and determination. He highlighted the team's strong performance in the pool stage and their impressive victory over Australia in the group stage.Fulton believes the team's success in Paris was a result of a well-structured preparation process. He emphasized the importance of the team's warm-up matches against Holland, Great Britain, and Germany, which provided valuable experience and helped them fine-tune their tactics.When asked about the team's best performers in Paris, Fulton declined to single out any individuals, emphasizing the collective effort required in a team sport. He acknowledged the contributions of Harmanpreet Singh, who scored 10 goals, but stressed that his success was made possible by the entire team's efforts.Looking ahead to the Asian Champions Trophy, Fulton acknowledged the challenge of replacing goalkeeper Sreejesh. However, he expressed confidence in the abilities of Pathak and Suraj Karkera, who will be the goalkeepers for the tournament. He also highlighted the importance of building depth in the squad and giving younger players opportunities to prove themselves.Despite the short turnaround time between the Olympics and the Asian Champions Trophy, Fulton remains optimistic about the team's chances. He emphasized the team's desire to defend their title and their commitment to preparing thoroughly for the tournament.

Coach Craig Fulton's unwavering belief in building trust and teamwork propelled the Indian hockey team to defend its bronze medal at the Paris Olympics. Fulton emphasized the importance of fostering a strong bond among the players, recognizing that it was the foundation for their success.The team's journey began with a gold medal at the Asian Games, securing their qualification for the Olympics. Despite facing challenges in the Pro League, the team remained confident in their abilities. Fulton's unwavering belief in their potential instilled a sense of determination within the players.The quarterfinal match against Great Britain proved to be a defining moment. Despite being reduced to 10 men after Amit Rohidas' red card suspension, the team displayed remarkable resilience. They fought valiantly for 43 minutes, ultimately securing a hard-fought victory. Fulton hailed this performance as one of his proudest moments on the hockey field.The semifinal match against Germany was a tough battle, but the Indian team played with heart and determination. While they were unable to score, Fulton praised their fighting spirit. He also acknowledged the team's resilience in the bronze medal match against Spain, where they faced a relentless attack in the final quarter.Fulton credited the team's success to the lessons they learned during their training sessions with Paddy Upton and Mike Horn, who were part of the World Cup-winning Indian cricket team. These sessions focused on mental toughness and the importance of embracing challenges. Fulton believes that these experiences played a crucial role in the team's ability to overcome adversity and achieve their goals.

For most teams, the Olympics is a meticulously planned four-year cycle, from player selection to training regimens and target setting. However, for the Indian men's hockey team, Craig Fulton had just five months to prepare them for the Olympic qualifiers. Now, as the team prepares to take the field for their opening game on Sunday, Fulton will have been in charge for exactly 15 months.For the Indian team, this is nothing new. The team and the sport have witnessed a revolving door of coaches and playing styles over the years, leading to a remarkable adaptability among the players.In a candid conversation, Fulton and captain Harmanpreet Singh, the duo responsible for India's hockey fortunes in Paris, shared their insights:Partnership and Communication:"He's like a big brother," says Harmanpreet about Fulton. "We have open discussions on every situation with the team. The trust is very high."Fulton echoes this sentiment, emphasizing the importance of trust in building a strong partnership. "Once you have that, you can be honest and then you can move mountains."Team Environment and Expectations:"The expectation is through the roof," says Fulton. "But we have a good environment and a good staff."Harmanpreet adds, "We are very close to what we want to achieve in major tournaments."Leadership and Growth:As captain, Harmanpreet has embraced his responsibilities. "I think the big change is you have more responsibilities and need to talk more, be a good communicator and guide the team."He has also experienced personal growth. "I have become a father so patience levels have skyrocketed! But seriously, as a senior player and with growing maturity, you learn to handle different situations and play smartly."Team Composition and Strategy:Fulton explains the team's selection process. "What strengths we have in the squad, what do we need for who we playing against, how do we play our best hockey?"He believes the team's chemistry and balance in attack and defense are key to their success.Rankings and Pressure:"Rankings are there for periods of time," says Fulton. "Right now, we are seventh, but we don't want to be there."Harmanpreet acknowledges the pressure but remains focused. "The responsibility to score is there but it is not a pressure. We have variations that we have not revealed."Medal Hopes and Legacy:"It'll be a reward for the process that we've put in place," says Fulton about the possibility of a medal.Harmanpreet adds, "It will be everything for me. More importantly, I want to bring back the time when people thronged to watch hockey matches and loved the game – a medal will be key to reach more people and revive the game more than ever before."

Craig Fulton's defensive strategy will face its ultimate test as India embarks on their Olympic campaign in Paris. The world No.7 team aims to secure consecutive Olympic medals for the first time in over half a century.To achieve this, India must overcome formidable opponents such as the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, and Germany. Former India forward SV Sunil emphasizes the importance of a strong defense, stating that "if we keep our defense strong, then we can finish on the podium."India's recent performances in the Pro League and their tour of Australia have highlighted the need for defensive improvement. They conceded 21 goals in eight Pro League games and were whitewashed 5-0 by Australia.Former India chief coach Sjoerd Marijne stresses the significance of converting limited opportunities, saying, "You will not get many and if you need too many chances to score you will not win these matches."India will face New Zealand in their opening match on July 27th. A strong start is crucial, as a win can set the tone for the tournament. Harmanpreet Singh, India's captain, acknowledges New Zealand's strength and emphasizes the need to maintain momentum throughout the game.India's Olympic campaign will be a test of their defensive capabilities and their ability to capitalize on scoring opportunities. If they can execute Fulton's strategy effectively, they have the potential to challenge for a medal in Paris.

Head coach Craig Fulton is well aware of the expectations from the Indian men's hockey team in the upcoming Paris Olympics. His mantra to his players is to play the game and not bother about the occasion."I agree that the expectations are higher after Tokyo bronze, but the bottom line is that the team has been progressing well. They are in the top eight and from 12th in London (2012) to 8th in Rio (2016) to bronze in Tokyo (2020). It was a big jump and now we are preparing for Paris," the South African coach told PTI Bhasha in an interview."My mantra to players is play the game, not the occasion. It's still a hockey match and rules have not changed," said the former Olympian who has represented his country in 1996 and 2004 Olympics.He said he's a "process driven" coach and all focus now is on the first game of the Paris Olympics against New Zealand. "We are training for that and we take one game at a time which is the most realistic way to do it," said the 50-year-old who was assistant coach of the Belgium team that won the 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup in India.He did not get a full four-year cycle for the preparation of the team but has no complaints. "Yeah, you normally have a four year cycle from one Olympics to another to prepare. It's not an excuse but that's how it is. I think we did well in three months to qualify for the Olympics through Asian Games gold. The team is confident and playing well," said Fulton, a former winner of FIH coach of the year award.He believes in players who are ready to take a bullet for his teammates and his team bonding methods have yielded good results too. He took the team to South Africa where the players did mountain hiking, surfing, barbeque at the beach, etc."I believe that if someone is not playing well, you have to cover him up. At the end, If you want to do something special at the big stage, it's all about the chemistry between the players and how much they care for each other. "The bond and the trust needs to be there so that you can give 100 per cent for each other," said the coach who had guided Ireland to Olympic and World Cup qualification in 2016 and 2018.Fulton is not bothered by India's seventh finish at FIH Pro League or the current drop in the world ranking. India is placed at seventh position in the latest rankings. "We struggled a little bit in the Pro League but the main purpose there was the selection so there were lots of rotations and changes and that's all right. Our main goal was to get the right team for Paris," he said"Not bothered by the rankings as we were trying to improve the depth of our squad, so we gave new players opportunities. We try to win every game with whatever team we play and that's not an excuse. We had six draws and five wins and 10 points was the difference between 7th team and the winner, so it was really close," said Fulton.He feels mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton, who has the experience of working with top cricketers, has an important role to play. "Paddy has worked with high profile cricketers like Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli which also encouraged our players to open up to him. Mental skills are one of the things we needed to improve but the real challenge is to do it back to back and that is what we are focusing on," he added.His focus has been on creating a good defensive structure because that is the area where teams often make mistakes. "Focus is on basics like PCA (penalty corner attack) and PCD (penalty corner defense). In today's hockey, anyone can beat anyone on their days. So a lot comes down on the goalkeepers, PCA and PCD where you make many mistakes. It is the area where we are trying to make technical and tactical improvement. We have a good offense but we need to keep improving the consistency of defence," he said"Field goal numbers have improved from the last Pro League to this one. But in the last Pro League, PCA count was higher. So it's like a zig zag and we are trying to put it together in the Olympics," he added.On India getting a 'Pool of Death' with Australia, Argentina and Belgium in the same group, the coach said, "We have to win five games to be in the top four. First game against New Zealand is very important."