Craig Fulton named new coach for Indian hockey men’s team

Former South Africa international Craig Fulton was named as the new chief coach of the Indian men’s hockey team by Hockey India (HI) on Friday.

Craig Fulton replaces Graham Reid, who had resigned following India’s failure to reach the quarter-finals of the FIH hockey World Cup.

Craig Fulton represented South Africa at the Atlanta 1996 and Athens 2004 Olympics and earned 195 international caps in a career spanning over a decade. 

Fulton also comes with an impressive coaching resume. He managed the Irish men’s hockey team between 2014 and 2018 and helped them qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympics - Ireland’s first Summer Games appearance since London 1908. He also won the FIH Coach of the Year in 2015 during his time with the Irish team.

Later, Fulton worked as the assistant coach with the Belgian men’s hockey team and played a significant role in Belgium’s gold medal win at Tokyo 2020. He was also part of the Belgian coaching staff when the team won its maiden hockey World Cup in 2018.

Craig Fulton’s first assignment with the Indian team will be their home games in the FIH Pro League 2022-23 against world champions Germany and world No. 4 Australia in Rourkela later this month. 

India will take on Germany in the first match on March 10 and their second match against Germany will be played on March 13. India will play Australia, the reigning Commonwealth Games champions, on March 12 and 15. Earlier, Hockey India announced a 20-member squad for the four games.