India men’s hockey head coach Craig Fulton has dismissed concerns over the relevance of bilateral series, saying these contests present teams a chance to test themselves. India are hosting world champion and Paris Olympics silver medallist Germany for a two-match Test series to be played in New Delhi on October 23 and 24.
While addressing the media on the series eve at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, Fulton explained that these two matches give India a good opportunity to blood in youngsters.
“I think it’s always important to play Test matches and that’s the reason it’s called a Test match. It’s a test of where you are right then and there and it’ll be good for us,” Fulton said. “We have Rajinder (Singh and Aditya (Arjun) to debut, which is also nice for us and for them. We want to see some of the other players that have come back. It’s exciting.”
“Is it irrelevant? I do not think that’s really the point. I think it’s an opportunity to test yourself against the number two team in the world. I think we are number five and so there’s the gap that we’re trying to make up. We hope we can get two good results on home soil,” he added.
India will be without their vice-captain Hardik Singh who continues his recovery from an injury he suffered at the Paris Olympics. In his stead, midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad will continue to be captain Harmanpreet Singh’s deputy.
When asked if the move is an indication that Vivek is being groomed as a future leader, Fulton said, “Hardik is not 100 per cent (right now). But when Hardik comes back, he will be the vice-captain.”
Fulton reminded that Vivek was the vice-captain at the recent Asian Champions Trophy in China too and added this decision will only prove beneficial for the team as it adds more depth to the leadership group.
“The beautiful thing about it is the more leaders that we create in the team, the more depth that we have in leadership. You don’t really need an armband to be a leader in our team, but now that Vivek has the experience, I think we’ll be better off for it and be a stronger team for it as well,” he said.
Germany are world no. 2 and their ability to quickly switch between tactics makes it quite a challenge for their opponents to keep up. Fulton knows this but adds India does like the challenge.
“I think Germany poses a lot of threats. They’re very good tactically. They can play man-to-man, they can play zone, can mix it up in the same half, in the same quarter. So, our strategy will have to adapt (accordingly). You can play one way for 10 minutes and then they play a totally different way and now you have to adapt (for that). So they’re a good team, smart team. We like playing Germany. Of course, they’re difficult, but we’re also a good team,” Fulton said.
The last time India faced Germany, it was the semifinals of the Paris Olympics where they suffered a heartbreaking 2-3 defeat.
“Intensity will remain the same. What we have been doing for the past few years, our planning – we will keep on working on that. Definitely, we try to learn from every match whether we win or lose. Obviously, (past results) stay on our minds. Germany is a good team. In today’s hockey, every team has 2-3 different structures. You have to analyse that and manage it as quickly as possible,” Harmanpreet said while responding to a query on the importance of past results.
Fulton said the process to build a new core group for the next Hockey World Cup in 2026 and Los Angeles Olympics 2028 has already begun, and hence the mix of youth and experience in the squad.
“I think if you look at it from now to the World Cup and now to LA, we are just opening up the selection to pick a new core group that will take us from now to World Cup and then from World Cup through to LA,” Fulton said. “So you’re never out of the system in a sense. It’s just difficult to get in when it’s got an Olympic year because it goes from 39 players down to 19 and then it opens up again and now we’re in that phase where it opens up again and we’re giving guys opportunities. And that’s why it also works out nicely when we have more games to play because we can give more opportunities and then get a better idea on our core probables going forward.”
Defender Varun Kumar is back in the mix having been out of action since February this year following allegations of sexual harassment. He’s been recalled after being acquitted of the charges levelled by a junior volleyball player.
“No doubt, it was a tough time for him (Varun). He’s strong and the entire team is with him. We are hopeful he will keep delivering his best for us like he has in the past,” Harmanpreet said.
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