NEW DELHI: The Indian men's ice hockey team has nailed their success mantra for the Paris Olympics: win by defending, score goals on the counter-attack and concede few penalty corners.
The team, backed by coach Craig Fulton's strategies, enjoyed success at the Hangzhou Asian Games and coach Harmanpreet Singh's men will be hoping to continue the same aggressive approach in Paris to reach the podium. It will be the first time in 41 years that the Indian hockey team has won an Olympic medal (bronze) at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
“Our motto under coach Fulton is 'Defend and win'. The system of defending and scoring through counter attacks worked well in the Asian Games and we will be relying on the same tactics going forward too,” Harmanpreet told TOI.
“With drag-flick specialists emerging in world hockey, giving away too many penalty corners can be dangerous for any team. The team has been training to strengthen our penalty corner defence, sharpen our attacks with variety and analyse opponents' routines to gain an advantage over other teams in penalty corners,” the captain added.
India had conceded a number of penalty corners during the Australian series, London and Antwerp stages of the FIH Pro League 2023-24 season, ceding an advantage to their opponents, and Fulton said the team had worked thoroughly on that area.
“We cannot afford to give our opponents penalty corners easily. We have worked hard to analyse other teams' penalty corners to gain an advantage in this area. I won't reveal too much about tactics, but I want to stress that the team has been working hard to improve the areas that were lacking in our last game. We are ready to give it our all in Paris.”
“The players are free to express themselves in attack but I believe that when we come together defensively we can beat any opponent in the world. As well as strengthening our defensive structure, we have paid a lot of attention to defending and attacking penalty corners as these areas can change the course of a game in an instant,” Fulton added.
The Indian team has been grouped into a tough 'Pool B' and will begin their journey to Paris against New Zealand on July 27, followed by Argentina on July 29. They will then face Ireland on July 30 and Belgium on August 1. Their final group stage match will be against Australia on August 2. A top-four finish will see India qualify for the knockout stage.
“There are some tough teams in Pool B but rather than worrying about our opponents, we want to focus on ourselves and take it match by match. Ever since we won the bronze in Tokyo, I have dreamed of changing the colour of the medal in Paris and I will go into the tournament with this mindset. I know the competition will be tough. Any team can beat their opponent in the Olympics if they are in good form. The team has grown over this Olympic cycle and new talent has emerged in the last two-three years. We are a very well-balanced team with experience in high-stakes matches. I am excited to begin my campaign and can't wait,” said Harmanpreet.
The team, backed by coach Craig Fulton's strategies, enjoyed success at the Hangzhou Asian Games and coach Harmanpreet Singh's men will be hoping to continue the same aggressive approach in Paris to reach the podium. It will be the first time in 41 years that the Indian hockey team has won an Olympic medal (bronze) at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
“Our motto under coach Fulton is 'Defend and win'. The system of defending and scoring through counter attacks worked well in the Asian Games and we will be relying on the same tactics going forward too,” Harmanpreet told TOI.
“With drag-flick specialists emerging in world hockey, giving away too many penalty corners can be dangerous for any team. The team has been training to strengthen our penalty corner defence, sharpen our attacks with variety and analyse opponents' routines to gain an advantage over other teams in penalty corners,” the captain added.
India had conceded a number of penalty corners during the Australian series, London and Antwerp stages of the FIH Pro League 2023-24 season, ceding an advantage to their opponents, and Fulton said the team had worked thoroughly on that area.
“We cannot afford to give our opponents penalty corners easily. We have worked hard to analyse other teams' penalty corners to gain an advantage in this area. I won't reveal too much about tactics, but I want to stress that the team has been working hard to improve the areas that were lacking in our last game. We are ready to give it our all in Paris.”
“The players are free to express themselves in attack but I believe that when we come together defensively we can beat any opponent in the world. As well as strengthening our defensive structure, we have paid a lot of attention to defending and attacking penalty corners as these areas can change the course of a game in an instant,” Fulton added.
The Indian team has been grouped into a tough 'Pool B' and will begin their journey to Paris against New Zealand on July 27, followed by Argentina on July 29. They will then face Ireland on July 30 and Belgium on August 1. Their final group stage match will be against Australia on August 2. A top-four finish will see India qualify for the knockout stage.
“There are some tough teams in Pool B but rather than worrying about our opponents, we want to focus on ourselves and take it match by match. Ever since we won the bronze in Tokyo, I have dreamed of changing the colour of the medal in Paris and I will go into the tournament with this mindset. I know the competition will be tough. Any team can beat their opponent in the Olympics if they are in good form. The team has grown over this Olympic cycle and new talent has emerged in the last two-three years. We are a very well-balanced team with experience in high-stakes matches. I am excited to begin my campaign and can't wait,” said Harmanpreet.
