India coach Craig Fulton seeks more control and early goals against arch-rivals Pakistan in Asian Champions Trophy 2023

The skippers of both teams also had their say ahead of the big encounter in ACT.

Indian men’s hockey team is set to take on arch-rivals Pakistan in their final group match of the Asian Champions Trophy 2023. The hosts started the tournament on a bright note winning the opening encounter against China and then followed it up with a draw against Japan. However, after a day’s break India bounced back strongly to win the next two matches and not only took the top spot but also confirmed their place in the Asian Champions Trophy semi-finals.

Pakistan, on the other hand, have progressed well after a loss in the opening game to Malaysia. In their last match, Pakistan defeated China to remain in contention for the semi-finals spot.

Ahead of the match against Pakistan, India coach Craig Fulton and skipper Harmanpreet Singh attended the pre-match press conference. Here are the excerpts from the interaction.

Thoughts ahead of the match

India has held the upper hand against Pakistan and are unbeaten in their last 14 meetings. Out of the last 14 matches, India has won 12 with the rest two ending in a draw. The most recent draw was during the Asia Cup last year where India fielded a young squad.

Head coach Craig Fulton quipped, “Pakistan will be a tough opposition as they are desperate to qualify for the semi-finals. They are in a very strong position because they need to get results, and they need goals as well. We want to have control in all four quarters and aim to score early and then try to take it from there.”

India-Pakistan rivalry

Skipper Harmanpreet Singh iterated, “the past few matches against them have been pretty good and we are completely focused on our gameplay. The rivalry has become a lot more different now. Both teams were very good few years back but it’s not that we are winning easily against them now.

They have the same mentality, playing styles are same and they also play attacking hockey, but the only difference is that they have a young squad and are giving more chances to the youngsters which is pretty good for the development.”

Penalty Corners

India has scored majority of goals through penalty corners and have had three different dragflickers scoring for them – Harmanpreet Singh, Jugraj Singh, and Varun Kumar. However, the conversion ratio has not been very impressive and the match against Japan is an example where India could score only one goal out of 14 PCs.

The captain said, “as far as the PC is concerned, we are not doing much variation to it and mostly going for a direct shot. I think we can use it during the Asian Games. It’s important for the drag-flicker to analyse the defenders rushing in. So, it’s good learning for us ahead of a major competition.”

Indian Sports Live Coverage on Khel Now

• China Masters 2023: Satwik-Chirag defeat home pair He-Ren to reach final
• Sports Minister Anurag Thakur announces first-ever edition of Khelo India Para Games
• Pankaj Advani defeats Sourav Kothari to win record 26th IBSF World Billiards Championship title
• Rohan Bopanna reaches joint career-high WR-3 in men’s doubles ranking
• Neeraj Chopra among five finalists for Men’s World Athlete of the Year Award for 2023
• List of Indian athletes to have secured qualification for Paris Olympics 2024

Pakistan coach and skipper speak

Pakistan’s assistant coach Muhammad Saqlain and captain Umar Bhutta addressed the pre-match press conference ahead of Indo-Pak clash

Pakistan is currently ranked fourth in the points table – ahead of Japan who are yet to win a match in the tournament. It is more like a do-or-die match for the neighbours depending on the outcomes from the previous two encounters.

The Pakistan assistant coach also had his say on India’s playing style, “India does not play structural hockey rather relies on the counter attacks. In the previous two matches, Japan and Korea played structural hockey with the former holding the hosts to a draw. Korea, on the other hand, did not let India run away and came back strongly in the fourth quarter.

“One advantage India has is physical fitness and also possess the world’s best drag flicker in Harmanpreet Singh. Ahead of the game tomorrow, we will focus on their weakness and try to work on it.

The coach further iterated, “India plays all out and attacks in the opening quarter and if we hold them then the match gets evenly poised. We have to be careful and try to not give them short corners and if successful we can churn out a win as well. Also, both our centre forwards have scored goals and played their best in the tournament. They will be the ones to watch out as the centre forwards have become reliant in the modern hockey.”

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and join our community on Telegram.