After Oly bronze, Fulton ready for future challenges

WHEN Craig Fulton started as the head coach of the Indian men's hockey team late in April 2023, he was equipped with everything he needed to make the squad his own.

- KALYANI MANGALE

His first big assignment, the Asian Games in China, where India had the opportunity to book their direct ticket to Paris, was only four months away. Cut to the present, Fulton is almost one and a half years into his tenure with India bagging the Asian Games gold medal, winning the Asian Champions Trophy on home soil and defending their Tokyo 2020 bronze medal in Paris. Aptly, Fulton has one word to describe his time with the team: Rewarding.

"Honestly, it has been rewarding," Fulton told this daily. "We came in and didn't have a lot of time ahead of the Asian Games. We just had three to four months to select a new team and get everyone on track. We had quite a difficult time in 2024 till the Olympics because we had to face quite a lot of competitions, the same time we were still selecting our squad and trying to find our best combination. The time after (series against) Australia was difficult, but I knew we were close. It is a great reward to come out of the Games with a bronze medal," Fulton mentioned.