Nagoya: The Indian men’s hockey team made history two days ago at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, successfully defending their continental crown for the first time by defeating Malaysia 5-1 in the final. Led by captain Harmanpreet Singh, the victory also secured India direct qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

Following the milestone triumph, head coach Craig Fulton emphasised that preparations for LA 2028 begin immediately. He revealed plans to rebuild the squad following the upcoming Hockey India League (HIL), focusing on integrating fresh talent alongside the team's core setup to balance youth and experience, according to a press release by the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

“LA 2028 is within two years. It seems a long way off, but it obviously comes around pretty quick. I think at the moment we’re just trying to get the right schedule, the right planning in place, the big blocks of what is the preparation like, two years out, one year out, six months out, and plan accordingly to that. Yeah, I think every team has its phases at and flows with experience and youth. We have a good group of experienced players with us now,” Craig Fulton said.

“We have some youth, but we have a lot of youth in the Indian A team and a strong Under-21 team as well, which is great. So in the next two-three months, I think just post the Hockey India League, we’ll have a look at all the talent that we have, choose new squad, and start afresh from there,” the 51-year-old added.

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This victory marks the fifth Asian Games gold medal for the Indian men’s hockey team, following earlier triumphs in 1966 (Bangkok), 1998 (Bangkok), 2014 (Incheon), and 2022 (Hangzhou). Reflecting on his journey, Fulton—a former South African international who competed at the 1996 and 2004 Olympics—noted the unique nature of this campaign compared to previous editions.

“Personally, this Asian Games was very unique. It was very different to the last Asian Games as we were isolated out here in a sense of away from the other events and athletes. There was no so-called Games Village. But at the same time, we had our own routine. We went to the field, we played, we came back, and everything is the same. But Hangzhou, being the first gold medal, was very special. But to come back and defend it back-to-back golds is always special,” he said.

India's path to the final featured a thriller against traditional rivals Pakistan at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium. After racing to a 3-0 lead via early goals from Harmanpreet Singh (5', 13') and Sukhjeet Singh (23'), India surrendered the advantage as Pakistan fought back with strikes from Abu Mahmood (30'), Hannan Shahid (45'), and Waheed Rana (49'). A last-minute goal from Abhishek sealed a dramatic 4-3 victory for India.

“Everything did go according to plan. We had a really good first half, and then the third quarter was difficult. Pakistan is that team that if you give them any free opportunities, they take them and they are a great team, and they showed that. They came back nicely and put us under a lot of pressure from 3-0 to 3-all. We still had some good chances in that period, but we couldn’t finish, we couldn’t score. And found a way in the last minute to do so and to get the fourth goal, which helped us make the final,” Fulton said.

The achievement formed part of an unprecedented double-gold sweep in hockey, as both the men’s and women’s teams topped their respective podiums at Aichi-Nagoya. Hockey joined Kabaddi and Cricket as the only Indian team sports to complete a double gold finish at the Games.

This performance was backed by financial and infrastructural support from the Sports Authority of India (SAI), which allocated INR 77.8 Crore toward training camps, exposure tours, foreign coaching staff, and equipment for both national hockey programs.

“I think the government is our biggest supporter in terms of the resources and the funds that they put forward to helping the grassroots programs all the way through to the 18s, 21s, seniors. Without them, obviously, I don't know what would happen if they didn't put as much support and resources around. But at the same time, by doing that the girls stand on the podium winning gold for the first time in 44 years. And we're fortunate enough to go back to back. Yes, that's domination in Asia,” he said.

“We obviously want to do that on the world stage. And the women had a fantastic World Cup, and the men obviously had a fantastic Paris. So the balance is there. The resources are there. But the main thing is we just got to keep pushing forward to find the talent and expose it on the international platform,” he signed off. (ANI)