India's FIH Pro League Debacle: Craig Fulton Takes Responsibility For Record Losing Run, Sets Sights On Asia Cup

Head coach Craig Fulton on Tuesday took full responsibility for India's disastrous run in the European leg of the Pro League which ended their hopes of qualifying for next year’s World Cup through the competition, vowing to “fix” things with a perfect show at the Asia Cup to secure a spot.

India were third with 15 points after eight home games in Bhubaneswar but could only add three more during the European stretch to finish eighth in the nine-team league.

“I’ll take full responsibility for maybe not having prepped the group the way it needed to be prepped but that’s where we are. That’s what happened and we can’t brush that under the carpet,” Fulton said in a virtual media roundtable.

"We have to man up and be accountable. I want to fix it. And they know they can fix it." India needed to top the Pro League table to book a direct World Cup berth, but instead, they slumped to a record seven-match losing streak — longest ever for the Indian men’s team in any competition.

“It was quite a frustrating time for us because we expected to win some of those games and we didn’t," he said.

"We had a break, reflected, we looked at areas that we want to improve, and a lot of it comes down to small moments, restarts, a little bit of defending, a little bit of outletting under high pressure, and then penalty corner defence, penalty corner attack. It’s always where it makes the biggest difference.

"We have to focus on PCD, PCA, final third and conceding some soft goals along the baseline and things like that. That’s fixable and that’s true," he said.

Priority Asia Cup, want to stay No 1

India’s immediate priority is to make amends in the Asia Cup, which will be held in Rajgir from August 27-September 7 and to remain No 1 in Asia.

The winners will secure direct qualification for the 2026 Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium slated from August 14-30.

"That’s our priority for the year — 100%. We start (the) camp next Monday (July 14) and then we go all the way through till the tournament August-September," he said.

“We want to stay No 1 in Asia so we’ve got a lot of good teams wanting to win this tournament to get direct qualification. We have to respect all our opposition but we know we’ve got a job to do on improving from the Pro League and getting back to our winning ways. It’s an exciting period for us.”

Fulton further acknowledged that an injury to captain Harmanpreet Singh during the European leg only made things worse, depriving the team of its top drag-flicker and defensive leader for four matches.

"He got smashed with a ball on the finger that split his whole finger open. He couldn’t play for four and a half games.”

“When you take out your captain in that space and we’ve never had to do that for long periods of time not by choice. Someone else has to step in and fill that gap and it was a good period for us.

Finding Harmanpreet's replacement

Fulton said managing Harmanpreet’s workload will be important going forward, especially with a packed calendar leading into the World Cup and Asian Games.

"It's still a long way away but we’ve got to focus now on the next two months and get ready for this Asia Cup with Harman." Finding backup drag-flickers remains a priority too.

“I think there’s a short and long-term view on this. Because obviously, Harman’s not going to play for the national team forever.

"So what does that look like in a few years’ time? But while he’s here, how do we find someone who can support him? Obviously, Amit (Rohidas) has a different skill set. He can flick and he can hit. Jugraj has a good flick.

"Yes, it’s difficult to replace Harmanpreet. It’s not something that you think about because while you have him, he’s a powerful force.

"I’m here with the India A group. They’ll have eight games and we’ll also be monitoring them and see how they go with how they approach the PCA.” "We’ve got to find guys that can complement him while we build into qualifying."

India A tour

The India A men’s hockey team will begin its European tour against Ireland in Eindhoven later on Tuesday, testing the depth and readiness of the next line of players.

With barely three weeks separating the World Cup and the Asian Games next year, Fulton said building depth through the India A programme is crucial.

"We had a training camp with 40-odd players, 47 players, but it’s two squads. And it’s to do that. There’s World Cup, and three weeks later have Olympic qualifier. It’s a massive challenge to do so, so we are trying to build depth within the positions that we’re looking for," he said.