Craig Fulton and Harmanpreet Singh
Craig Fulton, head coach of the Indian men’s hockey team, affected by the performance of young players in the national championship, said that the country’s hockey is deeply depth and the next 18 months would be important to form a team with strong ‘bench strength’. Fulton got a chance to know and understand India’s regional talent during the recently concluded National Championship.
Indian team is deeply deep: Fulton
Head coach Craig Fulton said that when we insisted on our strength, the matches were very close. Indian hockey has a lot of depth, especially in goalkeeping and some other areas which was very good to see. It was also encouraging to recognize the players who did not participate in the first league.
Craig Fulton said that some areas were definitely stronger than others. For example, Punjab landed with the largest number of international players, which benefited it. Apart from this, there was a good balance of talent in the top four teams. Fulton said, in terms of the formation of a new core group for the Asia Cup cycle, he said that his focus is not to find the players but to find the right players for specific roles.
Core group of 40 players will be prepared: Coach Fulton
Craig Fulton said that it is not about bringing more young players. It is associated with identifying the right players for appropriate roles. We are going to organize a practice camp soon in which 54 players will participate. A core group of 40 of these players will be formed. We want strength in every department of the game. The next 18 months are important for creating a team with strong bench strength.
(Input: PTI)