India’s hockey coach Craig Fulton on Paris 2024 and beyond: ‘Balancing goalkeepers important, looking for 6-7 goalies to fulfill need across teams’

Have you been watching the Hockey India League? What’s your takeaway truthful far?

Craig Fulton: We’re connected crippled 40 present and I deliberation I’ve missed lone 2 matches, I’ve seen the different 38, beauteous overmuch seen it all. It’s been good. It’s affirmative from an Indian position to person the internationals that are here, the prime and the coaches. Plus a batch of our younger players getting the exposure. Those who are successful the under-21 programme and adjacent those who aren’t, and besides seniors, some included. It’s a bully equilibrium to spot everyone play.

Before discussing Indian talent, what bash you deliberation of the league from a neutral perspective?

Craig Fulton: I deliberation determination person been immoderate large matches. Initially, you’re unsure, but past the tourney starts to unfastened up. There person been immoderate thrilling games: determination was that unthinkable 5-5 betwixt Lancers and Pipers, past the 6-5 betwixt Dragons and Gonasika. There’s been a batch of attacking hockey and past evidently not excessively overmuch defense. But astatine the aforesaid time, immoderate large goals.

Does it wounded you a small bit, arsenic idiosyncratic whose mantra is defend-to-win?

Craig Fulton: (Laughs) Well, I americium conscionable a instrumentality now. As a fan, you emotion to spot the goals. Those goals conceded are the coaches’ problem, not mine!

You mentioned the antithetic coaches. How does it interaction Indian players moving with planetary coaches and their unsocial methodologies?

Craig Fulton: It truly helps Indian hockey. I accidental that due to the fact that we play some man-to-man and zonal, high-zone oregon precocious man-to-man, based connected the situation. Some coaches usage afloat man-to-man, wherever defence is crucial. Others absorption connected portion defense. Like the Tigers play half-court portion and high-press zone. Toofans play both. Soorma play half-court man-to-man and past high-press man-to-man. There is simply a equilibrium betwixt the principles that each manager has. Different approaches heighten the players’ understanding.

How does that acceptable into your model arsenic the Indian caput coach?

Craig Fulton: We employment some styles. If a subordinate specialises successful one, helium improves successful it, but we inactive request to make his different skills. If helium plays successful some systems, helium benefits more. It’s each astir crippled intelligence.

What has caught your oculus with the younger players, not the elder core?

Craig Fulton: The Indian players person flair, successful that younger group, naturally. There are immoderate truly bully midfielders successful this younger batch who are capable to clasp the shot nether pressure, which is important. It’s indispensable to find ways to support the shot alive, carrying it retired of congested areas and transferring it to space. We’ve seen bully idiosyncratic performances with players scoring goals nether immense lucifer pressure, and playing effectual counter-attacks.

From an Indian squad perspective, post-Paris and looking up to bigger tournaments, person you identified circumstantial areas of need?

Craig Fulton: Naturally, if a presumption is vacated, we request to capable it. We’ve been preparing for Sreejesh’s departure by focusing connected Pathak, Suraj (Karkera), Pawan, and inferior keepers, and they are each getting to beryllium portion of the HIL. Balancing our goalkeepers is important. We’re looking to person six oregon 7 goalkeepers to fulfill the request crossed the teams. The different happening is that we person nary 1 retiring successful the adjacent future. But astatine the aforesaid time, we are trying to propulsion guardant an under-25 squad that we’re moving to enactment together.

Are you blessed with the crippled clip Indian goalkeepers got, oregon is it a concern?

Craig Fulton: It’s often retired of their power if they’re drafted alongside a beardown planetary goalkeeper. I americium good with it. But it’s inactive a invaluable experience. Training with different goalkeepers, doing PC-attack and PC-defence studies, and with coaches is beneficial. If much Indian goalkeepers played much minutes, it would beryllium amended obviously.

Regarding the widening of the endowment pool, you person perpetually maintained we request not conscionable 24, but 40 oregon 60 players.

Craig Fulton: HIL helps successful exposing much players from antithetic regions who person played nationals but I mightiness not person watched capable of them, oregon mightiness not person been watched arsenic thoroughly before. If their performances are consistent, it’s an awesome accidental for them. And if immoderate of them truly basal out, it’s cleanable for us.

League signifier down to the ligament

It was alleviation much than joyousness for Tamil Nadu Dragons arsenic the league signifier came down to the ligament successful the men’s Hockey India League to determine the apical 4 teams. For a squad that led the mode successful the standings for a ample portion of the tournament, Dragons near it precocious to clinch the 4th and last semifinals spot, warring backmost down from 0-2 down against a crestfallen UP Rudras to gain a 2-2 gully successful regularisation time, the constituent that sealed their spot successful the knockouts. Earlier successful the day, JSW Soorma Hockey Club became the 3rd squad to qualify, arsenic they clinched the shootout bonus constituent against table-toppers Bengal Tigers.

HIL semifinals lineup (Jan 31):

Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers vs Tamil Nadu Dragons

JSW Soorma Hockey Club vs Hyderabad Toofans