Dilpreet Singh exults after a strike against Korea in the final.
| Photo Credit: R.V. MOORTHY
Craig Fulton had not been too happy early on in the Asia Cup, but on Sunday, the India head coach was a content man.
“It was difficult. A lot of things didn’t fall in place for us… at the same time, it was a good performance, a good result,” Fulton said.
“Finals can be sketchy. They could go 2-2 and then you’re looking for a winner. But to get 4-0 up and then 4-1, I am happy with the position at the end,” he said.
The South African’s track record with the Indian side has been impressive — three gold medals and a bronze — but Fulton sought to create more depth to not just remain on top in Asia but be a serious challenger to the bigger teams in Europe.
“Yeah, I would (call it a really good tournament team). That’s a pretty good record But the main thing is we want to be No. 1 in Asia but we also want to have more depth in our squad.
“We’re just getting there. There are two different types of hockey — Asian hockey and European hockey. SoAll the power sits in Europe, in a way, and obviously Australia. We’re trying to build depth so that we can challenge the teams in Europe,” he said.
Asked about the most impressive aspect of the team, Fulton singled out the team’s commitment and intelligence. “The team is super intelligent. Whatever we throw at them, they try and do it. We do a lot of homework on opposition and ourselves, more on ourselves, but when they commit to doing something, they do it well.”
The team’s fitness also came in for praise. “If you play seven games in 10 days, that’s really difficult and we were physically stronger than all the teams here. That was the No. 1 thing to do. We prepared well, we executed, didn’t start so well but finished really strong”.
The one thing he admitted needed work on was more to do with handling the overall tournament situation. “The pressure needs to be on in the beginning and then less and less, instead of starting slow and putting yourself under pressure. We did it a little bit the other way,” he admitted.
Published – September 07, 2025 11:51 pm IST
