Coach Fulton looking to test fresh talent before Asiad, WC
BENGALURU: The Paris Olympic Games isn't fully in the rearview mirror but with a new cycle unfolding for India's hockey team, the focus has shifted to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, a target that has signalled a fresh start.
Chief coach Craig Fulton, who had only a year-and-a-half in the previous cycle to deliver but now, potentially, has a full course of four years, is out to test new talent, which would eventually lead to a renewed talent pool for the Games.
The probables returned to the grind this week, preparing for their first challenge, the Asian Champions Trophy (ACT). From Sept 8, in Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia, China, Harmanpreet Singh and his men will strive to defend the title they won in the previous edition.
For now, Fulton is still in the 'homework' phase, putting emerging players, goalkeepers too, through the paces and gauging their capabilities at SAI, South Centre. "I'm still trying to digest the Paris Olympics in a sense of what went well. Failure leads to clues but so does success, so you are trying to look at what went well and ways to recreate that. If you can't, then in which direction do you go? So, I am still in the digestive phase."
The task now is to get the new players up to speed, teach them new tricks and get them acclimatised to the work ethic of the team. "They bring different qualities. The focus is to get the right squad together, the right vision and then 2026 (Asian Games and World Cup) is not too far away," said the South African.
