indian men hockey the team’s wait for its new head coach ended on Friday as Hockey India named South Africa Craig Fulton instead of outgoing Graham Reidafter India’s disappointing display at the World Cup in January.
India finished a lowly 9th in a 16-team World Cup, after which the team’s Australian head coach Reid resigned, along with analytics coach Greg Clark and the scientific adviser Mitchell Pemberton.
Fulton, who has nearly 25 years of coaching experience, said he will strive to take Indian hockey to the next level.
“It is an honor to be appointed as the head coach of the Indian men’s hockey team. India has a deep history and heritage in the sport and I look forward to carrying this forward with the current team which has very promising talent,” Fulton said in a press release.
Reid, however, had guided the Indian team to a historic bronze medal-winning spectacle at the Tokyo Olympics.
Fulton has shown exemplary results in his previous tenures as a coach.
His rise to fame began with a stint with the Irish men’s team as head coach between 2014 and 2018, when the team qualified for the Rio Olympics in 2016.
It was the Irish team’s first Olympic qualification in 100 years. This historic achievement also earned him the title of FIH Coach of the Year in 2015.
Fulton also worked as an assistant coach with reigning Olympic champions Belgium en route to gold in Tokyo. He was also part of Belgium’s coaching staff when they won the 2018 World Cup in Bhubaneswar.
Fulton was named Belgian Coach of the Year this year.
During his illustrious career as a hockey player with the South African team, Fulton played 195 international matches over a 10-year period.
He was part of the South African team at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 and the Athens Olympics in 2004. He also participated in the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games.
Speaking on Fulton’s appointment, Hockey India Chairman Dilip Tirkey said, “I am very pleased to announce that Hockey India has finalized Craig Fulton for the role of Head Coach of Team India. male hockey. I had the honor of playing against him and now I look forward to working closely with him in this new phase of the men’s hockey team.
“He has tremendous coaching experience and his work ethic gives him confidence to elevate the team’s performance in the hockey world.”
Fulton is expected to join in the middle of upcoming FIH Pro League games against Australia and Germany at Rourkela next month.
India will face Germany in the first game on March 10 followed by the second leg on March 13. India will also face defending Commonwealth Games champions Australia on March 12-15.
Earlier this week, Hockey India appointed Australian David John, BJ Kariappa and Shivendra Singh as interim coaches for the upcoming Pro League games against Australia and world champions Germany.
(With contributions from the agency)
India finished a lowly 9th in a 16-team World Cup, after which the team’s Australian head coach Reid resigned, along with analytics coach Greg Clark and the scientific adviser Mitchell Pemberton.
Fulton, who has nearly 25 years of coaching experience, said he will strive to take Indian hockey to the next level.
“It is an honor to be appointed as the head coach of the Indian men’s hockey team. India has a deep history and heritage in the sport and I look forward to carrying this forward with the current team which has very promising talent,” Fulton said in a press release.
Reid, however, had guided the Indian team to a historic bronze medal-winning spectacle at the Tokyo Olympics.
Fulton has shown exemplary results in his previous tenures as a coach.
His rise to fame began with a stint with the Irish men’s team as head coach between 2014 and 2018, when the team qualified for the Rio Olympics in 2016.
It was the Irish team’s first Olympic qualification in 100 years. This historic achievement also earned him the title of FIH Coach of the Year in 2015.
Fulton also worked as an assistant coach with reigning Olympic champions Belgium en route to gold in Tokyo. He was also part of Belgium’s coaching staff when they won the 2018 World Cup in Bhubaneswar.
Fulton was named Belgian Coach of the Year this year.
During his illustrious career as a hockey player with the South African team, Fulton played 195 international matches over a 10-year period.
He was part of the South African team at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 and the Athens Olympics in 2004. He also participated in the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games.
Speaking on Fulton’s appointment, Hockey India Chairman Dilip Tirkey said, “I am very pleased to announce that Hockey India has finalized Craig Fulton for the role of Head Coach of Team India. male hockey. I had the honor of playing against him and now I look forward to working closely with him in this new phase of the men’s hockey team.
“He has tremendous coaching experience and his work ethic gives him confidence to elevate the team’s performance in the hockey world.”
Fulton is expected to join in the middle of upcoming FIH Pro League games against Australia and Germany at Rourkela next month.
India will face Germany in the first game on March 10 followed by the second leg on March 13. India will also face defending Commonwealth Games champions Australia on March 12-15.
Earlier this week, Hockey India appointed Australian David John, BJ Kariappa and Shivendra Singh as interim coaches for the upcoming Pro League games against Australia and world champions Germany.
(With contributions from the agency)
