New Delhi, 05 October (H.S.): The Indian men's hockey team successfully defended its Asian Games title two days ago, defeating Malaysia 5-1 in the final at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. With the victory, the Harmanpreet Singh-led Indian team also secured direct qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

In an exclusive interaction with SAI Media, Craig Fulton, head coach of the Indian men's national hockey team, said the Los Angeles Olympics are not far away and that after the Hockey India League, the team will have to begin working on building a new squad. The focus, he said, will be on bringing more young players into the team and creating a better balance between experience and youthful energy.

Fulton said, “Los Angeles 2028 is within two years. It feels like there is still plenty of time, but the time comes around very quickly. At the moment, we are trying to put together the right programme and the right plan. We have to decide what our preparation should look like two years out, one year out and six months out, and plan accordingly. Yes, I think every team goes through phases of experience and youth. At the moment, we have a good group of experienced players.”

He added, “We have some young players, but we have a lot of young talent in the Indian A team and a strong Under-21 team, which is fantastic. So, over the next two or three months, I believe that after the Hockey India League, we will look at our entire pool of talent, select a new team and start afresh from there.”

The gold medal was India's fifth overall in men's hockey at the Asian Games. Before this, the team had won gold at the 1966 Bangkok, 1998 Bangkok, 2014 Incheon and 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.

Fulton, who represented South Africa at the 1996 and 2004 Summer Olympics, described winning gold at two consecutive Asian Games as a special achievement.

He said, “Personally, these Asian Games were very unique for me. They were very different from the previous Asian Games because we were somewhat separated from the other events and athletes here. There was no so-called Games Village, but at the same time, we had our own routine. We went to the venue, played, came back and everything continued in the same manner. But winning the first gold medal in Hangzhou was very special. Defending the gold by winning it for the second time in succession is always special.”

India had secured its place in the final by defeating arch-rivals Pakistan 4-3 in the dying moments of the semifinal at Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium. India had taken a 3-0 lead at one stage, but Pakistan produced a remarkable comeback to level the score.

Harmanpreet Singh scored in the fifth and 13th minutes, while Sukhjeet Singh found the net in the 23rd minute to give India a 3-0 advantage. Abu Mahmood scored in the 30th minute, Hannan Shahid in the 45th and Waheed Rana in the 49th to bring Pakistan level. Abhishek then scored in the final minute to send India into the final.

Reflecting on the match against Pakistan, Fulton said, “Everything went according to plan. Our first half was really good, but the third quarter was difficult. Pakistan are a team that will capitalise on any free opportunities you give them, and they are a very good team. They showed that as well. They made a good comeback, going from 0-3 to 3-3 and putting us under a lot of pressure. Even during that period, we had some good opportunities, but we could not convert them and could not score. Then we found a way to score in the final minute and got the fourth goal, which helped us reach the final.”

The gold-medal victories of both the Indian men's and women's hockey teams at Aichi-Nagoya marked the first such occurrence in Asian Games history. After kabaddi and cricket, hockey became India's third team sport at Aichi-Nagoya in which both the men's and women's teams won gold medals.

The support of the Sports Authority of India (SAI), which provided Rs 77.8 crore in assistance to the men's and women's hockey teams, also played a significant role in this success. The support included national coaching camps, exposure through international competitions, remuneration for foreign coaches and equipment-related assistance.

Praising the support extended by the Sports Authority of India and the government, Fulton said, “I think the government is our biggest supporter when it comes to resources and funding, which they make available from grassroots programmes all the way through the Under-18, Under-21 and senior levels. If they did not provide that level of support and resources, I don't know what would happen. But because of that support, the girls were able to stand on the podium and win gold for the first time in 44 years. And we were able to win gold for the second consecutive time. Yes, that is dominance in Asia.”

He added, “We certainly want to do the same on the world stage as well. The women performed brilliantly at the World Cup and the men also performed brilliantly in Paris. So, the balance is there. The resources are there, but the key is that we have to keep moving forward, continue identifying talent and give them opportunities to gain experience on the international stage.”

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar