India’s head coach explained that while the team is convinced that it regenerates the title of hockey in Asia, no opponent will be used easily when the tournament starts in Rajgiru 29 August.
India, which raised the title of the Asia Cup three times, will strive to repeat its triumph in 2017, when in the final in Dhaka it bordered Malaysia 2-1. Their last campaign in 2022 saw them to be satisfied with the third place, while South Korea gained the highest honors and Malaysia completed the runners. This time India found herself in the pool and, along with Japan, China and Kazakhstan, while Pool B contains Malaysia, Korea, Bangladesh and Taipei.
Fulton spoke to reporters upon arrival in Rajgir and said that the preparation of the team was thorough and focused on building momentum step by step.
“The preparation of the team was solid for this tournament. Our approach will be a similar approach at the Olympic Games in Paris, where we started with good wins in the pool phase.”
“We want to start well, take the one playing the game, building on our dynamics, and we are aware that it has been eight years since India won the title (in 2017, Dhaka).
The tournament will also mean the first time the Indian hockey team of the hockey team in Rajgir, the Development Fulton believes that it can strengthen the popularity of sport in the region.
“We are very pleased that we can arrive in this prestigious tournament. It is great that international hockey is hosted here and we want to inspire people of this area in our game and create more fans for sport,” he said.
Indian Captain Harmanpreet Singh shared the same excitement of playing in Bihar and praised government support of hockey.
“We have never played in Bihar and it is exciting to see that Rajgir is already organizing his second international hockey tournament in one year. This shows the government’s intention to support the game and look forward to the love and support of hockey fans here during the tournament,” he said.
With full force, Fulton hopes to combine confidence with consistency because India is chasing the title of Asia and the World Championship.
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Published:
Debodinna Chakracorty
Published on:
August 25, 2025
