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INTERVIEW Craig Fulton, coach, Indian hockey team

- AYAZ MEMON AND ANIRUDH MADHAVAN

August was a good month for sport in India. Neeraj Chopra won India’s first gold at the World Athletics Championships with a throw of 88.17m in Budapest; R. Praggnanandhaa emerged runner-up in the FIDE Chess World Cup in Baku; and the national hockey team won the Asian Champions Trophy in Chennai. The last of those was more relief than joy, at least for the fans who had, after the Tokyo Olympics bronze high, seen India crash out before reaching the World Cup quarterfinals at home this January. Tokyo, it seemed, was not a false dawn.

The next challenge is the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China (September 23-October 8). New India coach Craig Fulton, a South African who was assistant coach with the World Cup-winning Belgian team, said the other teams would hunt India, the top ranked Asian team.

Up for grabs in Hangzhou is direct qualification for Paris Olympics next year. The team is currently training at the Sports Authority of India campus in Bengaluru. The players spend more than 250 days a year at the centre, away from family and under a rigorous regimen.

On September 2, just before the searing noontime, THE WEEK met both Fulton and captain Harmanpreet Singh to know what was cooking in the camp. They spoke about a range of topics, including the focus on defence, improved fitness of the players, the importance of mental conditioning, chances at the Asian Games and the main threats, the proposed revival of the Hockey India League and the India-Pakistan rivalry. Edited excerpts from the interviews:

Q/ Where does India stand going into the Asian Games?