“One phase away from finishing the way we want to”: Head coach Craig Fulton after Indian hockey team draws against Japan

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], August 5 (ANI): Indian men’s hockey head coach Craig Fulton said that his team’s penalty corner conversion rate in the drawn match against Japan is troubling, but guaranteed that his squad is not far from finishing things flawlessly.

The Indian men’s hockey team and Japan came up with an entertaining 1-1 draw in the ongoing Asian Champions Trophy Chennai 2023 here at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium on Friday. Harmanpreet Singh (43′) was the lone goal scorer for India while Ken Nagayoshi (28′) gave Japan a fine start.

Riding on their splendid 7-2 victory against China in the campaign opener, India looked for yet another victory but a determined Japan played with great tenacity to keep the hosts in check.

Though the reigning Asian Games Champions Japan got off the blocks with the right tempo to build pressure on the hosts in the first quarter, India did well to win back-to-back PCs early in the game.

“It’s every coach’s concern if you are not converting your chances, whether corners or field goals. So, you always try to work out ‘why?’ and try to find a solution for that and combinations of players together,” India head coach Fulton said at the post-match press conference.

“It’s not that we are not playing in our system. We are playing the way we want to play, and even tonight (Friday), we had two-three really good counters. We are one phase away from finishing the way we want to,” said the India head coach.

Fulton trusted his players to make the right decision at the right moment and was pleased that his team won several corners and created enough scoring chances.

“It’s situational. We want our players to shoot. They have the license to shoot. They make the next best decision on instinct about what’s in front of them, and we back that. The fact that we are winning a lot of corners is good. We have had a few shots. But we are still in the tournament. We got a draw out of this game,” Fulton added.

“Of course, we wanted to win it and had enough chances. It’s not a nice feeling, but we have got to get better and be ready for the next game,” said the India head coach.

However, Fulton credited the Japanese for defending well and forcing India to work hard to achieve success through corners and even field goals.

“Japan defended and attacked well. They were moving well. At half-time, we regrouped. We showed in the following quarters how we got back into the game. They also defended their penalty corners well. We didn’t convert (our corners), but not for the lack of trying. It’s a good lesson, and we will go again,” he added.