KOLKATA: Craig Fulton's reign as the new coach of the Indian hockey team hasn't begun on a great note as the team lost two consecutive matches in the Pro League. First, they went down to Belgium 1-2 and then Great Britain handed them a 4-2 drubbing.
While the team failed to tick a lot of boxes during the two games, captain Harmanpreet Singh continued his good show as far as penalty corners are concerned and scored two goals. By doing so he took his Pro League tally over seasons to 35 goals, the highest so far.
However, what seemed quite strange is that despite the presence of as many as five drag flickers in the team, it was Harmanpreet who took 11 out of the 12 shots over the two matches. Considering the team is preparing for the Asian Games to be played this year, it would have been better if players other than Harmanpreet also got some chance to hone their drag-flicking skills against tougher opponents.
Speaking on issue the captain however said, "We still have six matches left in the Pro League and I expect all the flickers to be in action. Also, one will get to see the variations we have been practising during the training sessions."
While India will face off against Belgium and Great Britain on Saturday and Sunday respectively in London, they will play against Argentina and the Netherlands twice during another mini tournament in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, from June 7-11.
Meanwhile, keeping an eye on the Asian Games, the area that the team will mostly be working on during these matches is defence.
Coach Fulton, during an earlier media interaction, had already said, "I like to defend to win so I like to have my defensive structures in place because that is the first step in attacking."
Naturally, it's the area that the captain also wants to improve upon.
"The main area of focus is the defence. We want to play better without the ball and maintain our structure. India have always been good with counter attacks. So, we will be working on what our plan will be when we get the ball and go on the counter and how we then finish the move," said Harmanpreet during a virtual press conference on Thursday.
Meanwhile, neither the captain nor vice-captain Hardik Singh sounded too concerned about the two consecutive defeats and believe the team will be able to make a strong comeback in the upcoming matches.
"Overall, we were good as a team, but we have to finish well and be strong on our basics. But I guess since we are playing after a long time, it does make a difference on our performance. On the other hand, the players of the opposing teams have come down after playing EHL (European Hockey League) matches," said Hardik.
While it's always great when the team wins, right now it's important that they work on their weaknesses and make all the necessary changes before the all-important Asiad.
