Rourkela: After a mixed 2025 in terms of performance, the new year began on an uneasy note for the Indian men’s hockey team, with controversy erupting after three senior players were rested from the core group for the FIH Pro League, which begins here in Rourkela on Tuesday. While the official reason cited was workload management, reports suggested it was linked to disciplinary action.Coach Craig Fulton, however, is keen to focus on the job at hand. They will play Belgium and Argentina twice each here, and he wants to use these matches, along with the four games in Hobart, to test the combinations.“We’re trying to get the best out of the group that we have put on the field trying to create combinations. It’s not only about results right now, but there’s a lot more behind it,” said the coach during a press conference here on Monday.“Coming into Rourkela, this is a good venue for India and for results. So, we hope to create that fortress mindset here. The crowd is exactly what we want. We want to entertain, but we also want to have them as the 12th man,” he added.Beyond performance, because the winner of Pro League will also get an Olympic berth, Fulton wants to confirm the squads for the Asian Games and the World Cup, to be held later this year within less than a month.“There’s real depth in the squad we’re building, which is our focus, but at the same time we’re also trying to get closer to peak performance. You can’t always achieve both. So, we’re using this phase to finalise our World Cup and Asian Games squads,” said the coach.While there are three debutants in this team and a number of youngsters, he isn’t ruling out the need of the seniors, who he believes will play a major role in the World Cup and the Asiad.“Our vision is to do well at the World Cup and qualify for LA (by winning the Asiad) but we have no LA unless we do well in 2026. We are using our seniors in that respect to try and get to two tournaments. But obviously we have to manage careers, not just matches,” the South African said.“There’s a balance between who plays where and how it plays. But we have a core. The core is based on experience. We have a balance of youth and experience here, but it’s not finalised yet.”With the two major tournaments still a few months away, Fulton has time on his side to settle on his combinations. For now, fans in Rourkela will be hoping for strong performances and positive results against Belgium and Argentina, who meet each other in the opener on Tuesday.
