India men’s hockey team coach Craig Fulton described his side’s hard-fought victory against Korea on Monday as a lesson before the upcoming Asian Games.
India secured a 3-2 victory against Korea during the ongoing Asian Champions Trophy 2023 match at the Mayor Radhakrishnan stadium on Monday.
“It helps. Sometimes, it is not pretty but you have to get over the line. That was a good exercise. The silver lining is we did enough to get the result but it was not pretty,” said Fulton after India’s 3-2 victory in the Asian Champions Trophy.
It was smooth sailing for the table-topper for three-quarters of the game before Korea wrested control in the final stretch.
Asian Champions Trophy 2023 hockey: India beats Korea to cement top spot
Fulton felt the momentum swung Korea’s way after Harmanpreet Singh, who had already scored, failed to convert a penalty stroke in the 47th minute.
“Unfortunately, we missed the flick (and) that changed the momentum a little bit. That gave them a bit more belief and changed the phase of the game,” said Fulton.
Another part of the unit’s struggle on Monday night was adjusting to Korea’s conservative sit-back-and-counter approach, said Fulton.
“They play very low. It’s a slow game. They want to try to frustrate you and entice you to give them the ball and then they play their style. That’s the way they played for most of the game. They would fall back into their half. It’s just a different style. We did not have a choice. So, it is all good learning.”
What saved India was the two-goal cushion that Mandeep Singh’s reverse-stick finish provided in the 33rd minute.
“I’m glad we came through that. It was not a bad thing because we got three goals. You make a mistake (and) you still have one (goal’s lead). Had it been 2-1, then it’s a different game,” said Fulton.
Penalty Corner Conversions
During the invitational four-team tournament in Spain, India came under the lens for relying too heavily on penalty corner conversions. On Monday, two of its three strikes were field goals. And while Fulton was happy with the fluency, it did not worry him how goals came by.
“The first one was a nice field goal. Last night (against Malaysia) there were two. The plan is always the same - to get goals. How we get them (does not matter), one way is not more important than the other. It is nice to score field goals and a corner in the same game,” said Fulton.
India faces Pakistan next on Wednesday, the side’s ninth game in just over two weeks. Fulton found the gruelling schedule as a mental challenge along with a physical one. Though his players might have to dig into their reserves, it will serve its purpose in due time, said Fulton.
“We are in a good block of fitness. Let’s not underestimate travelling from Europe to here and playing seven games in a row. We are now in game four. And we played four on that side. So that is eight games in (around) 12-13 days. That’s a tournament. So this is quite a nice challenge for us. It is not an excuse. It is a good mental challenge.”
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