Last Update: May 16, 2023, 17:36 IST
Craig Fulton won the FIH Coach of the Year award in 2015. (pic credit: Hockey India)
Craig Fulton has achieved exemplary success in his last stint as coach
Barely two weeks into his new role as the head coach of the Indian men’s hockey team, South Africa’s Craig Fulton is very clear about his goals – to make the team number one in Asia and qualify for next year’s Olympics in Paris. Doing.
Fulton, who has witnessed the rise of Belgian hockey since 2018, wants India to first dominate Asian hockey and then gradually take it to the world stage.
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My mind is to become the number one team in Asia. Definitely, it is one of the goals that we want to achieve and be persistent and then move forward because if we are sitting at world ranking 4 and 5, you have to be consistent to reach the podium. Need to do,” Fulton said in his first media interaction, held virtually.
“When you have enough experience and have a game plan that suits all individuals, you can definitely push to reach the finals and win them.
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“The priority is to qualify for the Paris Olympics through the Asian Games. This is our number 1 priority. Using the FIH Pro League, the Four Nations in Spain and then the Asian Champions Trophy, we really want to strengthen ourselves and be in a position to qualify directly.”
Fulton has achieved exemplary success in his previous tenure as coach. His rise to fame began as head coach of the Irish men’s team between 2014 and 2018 when the team qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
It was the first Olympic qualification for an Irish team in 100 years. The historic achievement also earned him the FIH Coach of the Year award in 2015.
Fulton also served as an assistant coach with defending Olympic champions Belgium on their way to the gold medal in Tokyo. He was also part of Belgium’s coaching staff during the 2018 World Cup win in Bhubaneswar.
The South African was candid about his assessment of the current Indian team, saying there is a gap between it and the top two or three teams in the world.
“We are not the best team but we are a good team. We have some work to do but at the same time we are very difficult opponents to play, many teams do not like to play us,” Fulton said.
“But realistically where we are now, there is a gap between us and the No 1 and 2 teams in the world and we need to work (to close the gap).”
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)
