"India moved from World Cup failure to the podium in Paris"- Coach Craig Fulton on Indian hockey team's sensational turnaround
Indian hockey team's coach, Craig Fulton, was beaming with pride as he opened on the resurgence of his team. Fulton, who has been in the role for just over a year, has already made a tremendous impact on the team.
The South African is pleased with the team's performance at the Summer Games, given it had come after a disappointing recent patch. The Indian team had failed badly at the FIH 2023 Hockey World Cup, finishing ninth.
Craig Fulton was in conversation with Sportskeeda at a felicitation ceremony for PR Sreejesh in Delhi. The Indian coach feels they have come a long way from there to now a podium finish in Paris.
"In the last 14 months, this Indian team has moved from not qualifying for their own home World Cup to now finishing on the podium in Paris. I believe, this team holds the ability to go toe to toe with any top side in the world," said Craig Fulton.
The 49-year-old also opined on what he thinks the Indian team's mindset should be going forward, for them to win gold medals. Craig feels it is about 'dreaming' and 'expecting' excellence, aligned with a lot of sacrifices, that brings you gold medals.
"If you want the gold medal, there is a lot of sacrifice. How much do you care about the process? And most importantly, what is the dream? The dream is to win gold medals," said Craig.
"Then you need to be expecting that dream. For the dream to actually work, you must put in the action. You gotta put it out there, talk about it and then be able to go out and do it," he added.
Craig Fulton wants the Indian hockey team to align with his vision
Craig Fulton feels, that just his vision alone, will not bring success. His responsibility as a coach is to 'influence change'. The only way to do that according to him, is by passing on his vision to the team efficiently.
"A coach's vision is the most important. You have to see your team as 'it can be' and not 'as it is'. As a coach if you do not know what your vision looks like, then you will fall for anything," said Craig Fulton.
The two-time Olympian, Fulton, feels if his team does not believe in him and his imagination, then no collective goals can be ever achieved. He said:
"It is one thing me wanting to do something, but if the team is not willing to buy into it, it is never gonna work. The most important part is, that you have to actually go out and get it done."