Back to full-strength training after the disappointing Pro League tour of Europe, the Indian men’s hockey team is putting in the hard yards to ensure better results in the upcoming Australia tour with one eye on the Asia Cup back home later next month.
The players have been training in Bengaluru for the last fortnight, and, although the squad for Australia has been decided, the trials for the Asia Cup are scheduled on Friday as coach Craig Fulton zeroes in on his final 18 for the World Cup qualifying event in Rajgir.
“It’s going good and it’s nice to have the India A group back as well. I expect good competition and we are excited about the Asia Cup, that’s the main priority for the year. We specifically chose Australia to tour for that reason (tougher opponents than the teams in Asia Cup) because we want to make sure we have covered all bases. To play a top team like Australia, from a physical and a tactical point of view, it will highlight quite quickly if we are on track or not.
“It’s not always easy; we had a tough time when we went there the last time, but 3-4 months later, we beat Australia for the first time (in Olympics). That’s the ideal scenario, to play someone better than you and then close the gap between where you started and where you finished,” Fulton said after training on Tuesday.
The India A side also had mixed results on its Europe tour recently, but Fulton insisted it was part of a long-term process. “With the India A, it’s all about development. They are not there to win games against Holland, Belgium, and England. At the same time, we are looking at developing the next group of talented athletes, but they need good games, and they need to be tested. I think we really got a good balance of seeing that.
“We just want to create more depth because what happens now with the Under-21s? They finish the World Cup, they can’t come straight into the senior group, where do they go? This squad is for that and then it’s always really competitive. Whoever comes in is better than what’s currently going out and that’s how we are trying to manage that programme,” he said.
As for the Asia Cup, he isn’t thinking about the line-up just yet. “I’m preparing for Pakistan, and that’s how we’re approaching it. The worst thing to do is not prepare, and if they arrive, then use the excuse, ‘Oh, we didn’t think they were coming.’”