ROURKELA: The week Craig Fulton officially took charge of the men's team, he got down to the business of learning about the demographics of the squad. No topic was left uncovered as the South African wanted to learn about their caste, where they came from and the languages (down to their dialects) they speak. On a very warm afternoon inside the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium, Fulton, who will complete one year in the job next month, spoke about that episode, the cultural differences between India and the other places he has managed in and why India are not the best side in the world but can be. Excerpts:-
On your takeaways in terms of culture
A week after I arrived, we did an informal session. I wanted to find out the players' individual stories. So, we put up a map and they showed where they came from. We then started to connect, you have completely different environments... isolated pockets and then a big block in the middle where a majority of the players come from but the language and the dialects are different. I didn't have an understanding of who comes from where and what the influences are in those areas. Including the caste system as well, getting a sense of what that resembles and does that work internally. It was fact-finding.
On what he found
It's so vast and it could be a strength. Because if you know everything is a Blue Society and it's all run by rules and regulations, they are going to stick with it. But in India, I don't always see that being the case. So you bring that down to style of play or the composure and chaos. That's how India works in a way, from a neutral standpoint.
On bringing in control to the style of play
So, if we had an empty stadium, and we played that game (Australia where they lost 4-6 in Bhubaneswar last week), I think we'd have a different result. In the sense of what happens to the players, what’s expected of them, what is the next emotional decision they make because we are trying to play harder, faster. And what happens to the expectations when we get into the opponent’s half? It goes through the roof. That’s why it’s such a beautiful spectacle. But at the same time, if you’re out of control in that space and another team works on that, how does it help you? Nothing to take away from the players and the passion of the fans.
On if that kind of helped the team when they played in Tokyo where there were no crowds
One of the places that does the PR the best is India. At the same time, you pump up the expectations through the roof. You want the team to do so well and (wonder) how long is it going to be before we win the gold. When it’s closer to the tournament, there’s one fatal moment or game and whoosh, the whole thing comes down and we start all over again. I put it this way: 2012 – India finished 12th. 2016, 8th. So, where are we going – 12th, 8th, 3rd. Now, what’s everyone expecting?
Silver or gold
Do you get my point? How many years did that take? Now we are sitting in a 12-year cycle. The only real correlation I can see between Tokyo and where we are now is that 13 or 14 players in the squad that went for Tokyo (Olympics) are still with us. You are retaining more players going into another block. But then you also do the same comparison of who are in the top 3 or top 4. And they have more. So, everyone in the Olympic year does more. It’s a wonderful challenge. They potentially can do something special but they are not the best team in the world at the moment. We are not there yet. We know what we are, where we are. We know the gap between us and other teams. But I also feel if you take Australia as ranked 6 in the world then good luck.
On getting Paddy Upton (mental coach) onboard to work with the side
If he's working with the best cricketers in the world and they are Indian legends, why not? The first objective was who would be able to tell a story that resonates with the team. So, anything to do with the 2011 World Cup. Who was involved, who can tell a story? Only Paddy can talk about it, I can't. And how do you link the two to try and rewrite or make history with this group going forward? This is the way to do it. That was my plan.