Asiad 2026: Fulton says India had honest debrief after Pakistan semifinal

The hard-fought win over arch-rivals Pakistan in the semifinal pumped the Indian men's hockey team in their dominant victory over Malaysia in the summit clash to clinch the Asian Games gold and book the 2028 Olympics berth, said head coach Craig Fulton here on Saturday.

Captain Harmanpreet Singh rose to the occasion with a brace as India thrashed Malaysia 5-1 to win the men's hockey gold for the second time in a row.

"We played a great game. We almost needed that semifinal (win) to get into this mindset," Fulton said after the summit calsh.

The nimble-footed Malaysians, who have always been a tricky opponent, created problems for India for stretches of the first half. India, however, played much better in the second half to impose themselves in the contest.

 

"I'm proud of the boys because on the first half's performance from Malaysia, they did really well. We stuck to our guns but they scored a world-class goal. Coming in 2-1, it was tight. And then our third quarter was immense and I think that was the difference." Asked about the mindset of the team ahead of the final against Malaysia, Fulton said, "This game was good because we really debriefed honestly after the semifinal. We just had to focus on ourselves and our basic game plan but do it at tempo and have no fear. Suddenly, it started to click and off we went again. So it was great." India finished a disappointing ninth in the recent World Cup, but he said the team wanted to qualify for the Olympics with the Asian Games.

"That was the main goal of 2026. Had we won the World Cup we still would have had to come here and play. Obviously the World Cup didn't go the way we wanted it to. I'm glad we dominated in Asia and this was important for us." Asked what message he gave to the players after the team's not-so-good performance from the defenders, he said, "We just had a good debrief. We were just honest with the way we played and I think the occasion got to us a little bit.

"Because if we didn't get to four and five goals and then you make one or two mistakes and then Pakistan get their tail up and they can play and they can score goals," he said about the team's 4-3 win over Pakistan.

"I'm glad we found a way to win that game because that was the difference and I think that helped us in this final." The South African said the team was conscious of late slip-ups and conceding of goals in the fag end of matches.

"We were really conscious around our counter-defence and getting numbers behind the ball. We would just let the attacking midfielders and strikers go. If we came back we had a good structure and we did that well for the second half. That was the difference." On Shilanand Lakra, who scored in the 54th minute and impressed in the match, Fulton said, "He is that kind of silent assassin and when we needed him he came up trumps and he was really effective." Asian Games gold big relief after World Cup disappointment: Hardik Senior player Hardik Singh said the Asian Games gold is a big relief for the team, which had struggled in the World Cup.

"It's a big relief for us because how the World Cup went, it was really hard mentally and physically," said the midfielder.

"We were very exhausted, but we knew that we have a challenge of the Asian Games, and then we have to win the gold. There's not a second chance, and you know it's a high stage, where we have to be consistent about our results. So that's what we did." He said winning the Asian Games gold showed the character of the team.

"We stood up at the Asian Games, and we fought every match. It shows our character, and that's how we are. We want to start strong and finish stronger.