The Indian men’s field hockey team appointed Craig Fulton as the chief coach on Friday, March 3rd. The apex body of Indian field hockey (Hockey India) announced the appointment of the former South African player on its official website.
The post of the chief coach of the Indian men’s field hockey team was laid vacant for about a month after Graham Reid had resigned on January 30th, taking accountability for India’s calamitous performance in the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 held in India from January 13th to January 29th.
Indian hockey team finished the World Cup in the ninth position after having failed to live up to the expectations of the hockey fans. A dejected performance against New Zealand in a cross-over match, ended the Indian team’s hope of winning the World Cup trophy after a 48-year hiatus as India won its sole World Cup back in 1975.
Australian Reid’s resignation from his post drew flak from the former Indian hockey players. They raised questions about the appointment of foreign coaches as the Indian team under foreign coaches failed to win any major trophies. Nevertheless, Hockey India sought the service of a foreign coach and finally appointed Fulton as the chief coach of the Indian hockey team.
48-year-old Fulton has a noteworthy experience under his belt. He guided the Ireland men’s field hockey team to qualify for Rio Olympics 2016 during his four-year tenure as the Irish team’s chief coach from 2014 to 2018. Fulton also worked as the assistant coach of the reigning Olympic champions Belgium men’s field hockey team. He was an important member of the South African men’s field hockey team in the Atlanta Olympics and Athens Olympics in 1996 and 2004 respectively.